Chapter 1

Chapter

One

I stared down at my father’s corpse with a lump in my throat. He was pale, with sickly blue veins scattered across his face. His lips were tinged purple. Despite coroner Davis’ efforts to make him look presentable with makeup, he looked… dead.

Because he was.

My father is dead. The emperor is dead.

“We are waiting for the blood results, but we think it was some kind of poison, as no other wounds were found on his body but those claw marks.”

I knew the marks he spoke of, the ones on my father’s arms that were currently hidden under the sheet. I’d seen them on him the night he was killed. Last night. How had it only been last night? It felt like years and only seconds at the same time.

“Poisoned claws? Talons?” I asked, dragging my gaze away from my father’s face for the first time.

“We think so,” Davis said. “There was no evidence of a toxin in his stomach, so he didn’t drink it. The test results will show more.”

I nodded. That was good. Drinking the poison meant it would have been one of our own who had close contact with him. I didn’t even want to go there. But there had been foam on his lips —did Davis see that? It was gone now. Did it matter? My mind was racing and sluggish at the same time as I tried to process too much at once.

Admiral Caruso, who stood next to me, turned to face me. “Are you ready, Empress?”

I was sworn in late last night, a mere six minutes after my father was found dead. The city was now secured, so I sent for Elaine and my sisters to be escorted back to Riverine with a personal guard of over a dozen imperial soldiers. They would be here any moment. I was about to fly across the country with the morning sun and parade myself to my people as a strong and capable woman. As their empress.

I tipped my chin high, pushing down every emotion I wanted to feel right now, closing it off, and forcing myself to be numb to the wild mixture of pain and rage that was threatening to drown me.

I nodded. “Yes, Admiral.”

I then looked at Davis. “The second you have any lead on what type of poison this was, I want a full report. I don’t care about the hour of the night.”

He saluted me. “Yes, Empress.”

I would find the person who killed my father and cleave their head from their shoulders with his sword that now hung on my hip.

I hadn’t slept. I hadn’t eaten. Everything was happening so quickly, but I had to push through. I had to stay strong. It’s what my father would have expected, what my people demanded of me.

When we stepped out of the morgue, I stopped in my tracks, the ball in my throat growing tighter. The Riverine flag that hung over Emberlane Park was half-mast.

I would be the first to admit that my father wasn’t a warm person. He didn’t kiss our boo-boos when younger or bounce us on his knee. But he loved us in other ways, better ways, some might say. He taught me battle strategy over breakfast at fourteen.

‘Sometimes you have to make your opponent think you are weak so that you can draw them closer.’ I remembered all of his advice—I’d cataloged it for the day I would lead. A day I thought would be decades in the future. ‘Then you go for their throat.’

My father’s love was shown in the way he’d hired Elaine to train me and my sisters. He’d bought us weapons and taught us how to use them. He kept us safe. He…

I turned off the thoughts as a line of admirals and their creatures stepped out of the waiting caravan of black cars. Liana descended from the sky to take me on my tour of the countryside.

Admiral Caruso faced me with her tawny wolf creature at her side and pulled a stiff salute to her forehead. “The empire is looking to you now, Empress Aisling,” she counseled. “To lead without fear. To get retribution for this travesty. Show them how strong the Everhart name is.”

I nodded.

A shadow passed overhead. Liana landed beside me, and the admiral took a wary step back, eyeing her with apprehension.

Liana peered over at me. ‘Elaine and your sisters are down the street. Do you want to wait for them or see them after the parade?’

I’d sent a messenger with a protection team early this morning to deliver the news of our father’s death to them. I wasn’t sure I could face my sisters and Elaine now and still fly around the empire and remain strong.

‘Let’s go. I’ll see them later,’ I said, and adjusted my black leather armor before hopping onto her back, careful with the yellow cast I still wore on my wrist.

Without questioning, she took to the skies, and my anxiety eased once we were among the clouds. I was exhausted, hungry, sad, confused, enraged. So many emotions ran through me, but when Liana came up over Emberlane Park and thousands of Riverine citizens erupted into applause, I pushed all of my desires down and focused on the needs of my people.

A full smile would not be appropriate as I was still mourning my father, so I opted instead for a tight, barely there smile and a constant slow wave. Liana flew circles above the people as children held up signs with my firebird creature painted on them.

“Long live Empress Aisling!” the crowd chanted.

I pulled my father’s sword from my belt and hefted it into the sky, and the cheers grew louder. This was a promise of retribution for the attack last night. I would hammer the Luskins hard and long for what they did. Already, the leaders of the Fleet were drawing up battle plans to present to me tonight after my tour. Together, we would seek the best course of action that would incur minimal losses on our side and maximum loss on Luska’s.

After about ten minutes at the park, Liana moved on to the hillside mansions. Citizens waved from their backyards and porches, all looking to the sky as if waiting for me. Every flag in the city was half-mast. It was a weird tradition we had in Amersea. We didn’t truly mourn a fallen emperor or empress. That was seen as a sign of weakness. There would be no funeral for my father, no throngs of black and weeping eyes. Instead, we lowered our flags for a day and then looked to the future and strength of our country. We lifted up the successor and trudged on. My father’s nice suit and painted face were merely for me and Elaine and the triplets. Once they said goodbye to him, he would be cremated in accordance with his wishes.

‘Who do you think killed him?’ I asked Liana as we flew over a stretch of barren forest on our way to the first Fleet base in our tour, Storm Haven.

‘Poison not ingested means it was not likely anyone in Amersea double-crossing him. I think one of the Luskins’ creatures had deadly poisoned talons and must have snuck in and attacked him during the assault.’

I nodded. It was a good assessment; the same one I had come to, and yet… something else felt off about how my father died. He was so strong. Zuri too. For him to fall so easily… it was hard for me to believe. That room should have been covered in blood; my father would have been missing an arm or leg before someone killed him. He would have likely just portaled out in extreme danger. My father was not immortal, but I had expected his killer’s body to be lying next to him at least. He had no blood under his nails or on his blade. He was taken by surprise and barely fought back. It didn’t seem possible.

‘You think Red could have taken the air from his lungs from afar?’ I asked Liana, indicating the woman who rode the red dragon. She had a dangerous power I’d never encountered before.

‘Yes, but then his lips would have been blue, right?’ Liana said wisely.

She was right. His lips were purple now, but they hadn’t been on the night he died. He’d not looked like he lacked oxygen. Maybe it didn’t matter exactly who killed him or how. I was going to strike back on Luska in my father’s name either way.

Liana cocked her head to the side, and I felt her body tighten beneath me.

‘What is it?’

She relaxed. ‘Onyx and Kohen are flying far behind us, out of sight. Kohen is worried about your safety.’

Kohen. The name brought an ache to my chest. Just when I thought I might be able to have a nice little love affair with him before any real responsibility was laid at my feet, my father died and made me empress. Anything I’d started with Kohen would have to stop now.

My people would never follow a leader tied to an enemy.

I sighed.

Was Kohen right to be worried about my safety? Would whoever killed my father come back to finish me off and then my sisters? With thoughts like that, I’d never sleep again, so I pushed them down.

Admiral Caruso and some other high-level Imperial Fleet members were following my parade by road and train. If they knew that Kohen Badshah was following me, they’d probably lock him up and kill him. We trusted no one right now.

‘Tell him to go home,’ I told Liana.

I didn’t want to deal with Kohen right now. Or Tetra, or anyone else. I had way too much on my plate to be thinking of my friends. I was now the leader of the entire Imperial Fleet, the entire nation of Amersea. At nineteen years old.

‘He said he will stay out of sight but he’s not leaving,’ Liana answered.

I growled but didn’t have the mental space to care if Kohen wanted to follow me across the country. I let my thoughts wander to the night Kohen told me I was going to lose someone I loved. He’d said he didn’t know at the time who it was, but now I wondered if he’d foreseen it was my father and didn’t tell me. Before I could think more on it, Liana descended into Storm Haven base, where rows and rows of imperial soldiers stood waiting, standing with stiff backs and firm salutes.

One by one, the soldiers broke protocol and peered up at the sky to watch me descend. My father’s parade had been by car. Never had an emperor or empress flown on her parade. But we thought it would be a good show of strength. The admirals wanted the people of Amersea to know that their new empress was bonded to a Talanagi.

I landed in the middle of the seaside base that perched on the cliff of the beautiful ocean. I couldn’t help but think of how my father wanted to send me here. And now I’d be going to Sky Reach to live on the front. I’d gotten my wish in the worst way. I didn’t have the power to portal home every night for dinner like my father.

I dismounted Liana, and she stood tall, peering at the soldiers as I walked toward where a podium had been erected. I knew some type of a speech would be expected of me, no matter how small, but I hadn’t taken speech-writing training yet, so I’d have to wing it.

I glanced out at the rows of creatures who stood off to the side, waiting for their bondeds. Lions, wolves, bears, tigers, foxes, falcons, gorillas, formidable beasts waiting for my command.

Beside the podium was the general of the base. I couldn’t remember his name, and I knew I’d have to sit down with flashcards after today and memorize every single officer in the Fleet, but for now, I just nodded to him.

He saluted me. “Empress.”

“General.” I tipped my head, trying to swallow my nerves.

He gestured to the stage as if asking me to give my speech, and my palms went slick with sweat. I hated public speaking, but it was part of this new life, so I glanced at Liana for reassurance, and she gave me a small nod. I stepped up to the podium and surveyed the mass of soldiers before me. Each one was a valuable life that was now in my hands.

With no plan, I leaned into the microphone and told the soldiers of Storm Haven the truth: “My father, your fallen emperor, was murdered last night during the Luskin attack on Riverine.”

Each soldier present removed their hand from their salute and crossed it over their heart. A gesture of respect for my father that had my throat tightening.

“But I am here to tell you that the streets of Luska will run red with the blood of their soldiers because I will not sleep until I have paid them back in kind!” I screamed, my voice rising with each word.

The soldiers shouted their agreement, throwing their fists into the air. “And this war cannot be won without Storm Haven. This base is essential to our efforts. You keep the Imperial Fleet stocked and fed. Without you, we are weak. Don’t let anyone diminish your importance.”

More cheers, and then I crossed my fist over my chest. “I have trained my whole life to take up this title. I promise to lead you fiercely and wisely until my dying breath.” The screaming was roaring in my ears as I stepped off the podium.

The general shook my hand, appearing impressed. “That will boost morale for months to come. Thank you, Empress. We look forward to your orders of retaliation on the Luskins.”

I met his gaze with a fiery one of my own. “Oh, you can count on it, General,” I told him.

I walked over to Liana, slid my leg over her back, and we took to the skies, heading for the next stop. The soldiers below chanted my name, and I couldn’t help the swell of pride that rose in me.

‘That was a good speech. You will make a wonderful empress,’ Liana told me.

I thanked her and settled into the ride.

We stopped off at Marble Shores, Thunder Cliff, and were now on our way to Evergreen base. After that, I just had Sky Reach. As we passed over Evergreen, I felt dizzy with exhaustion and hunger. It was past lunchtime, and I’d skipped breakfast. I’d been riding for five or six hours straight, and my legs were nearly numb. It was heartwarming to see that even the small country villages came out and looked to the skies to wave at me. I waved back, no matter how tired I was, and sometimes Liana spit fire to give them a show.

When I touched down at Evergreen, I stiffly slid off of Liana.

‘I’m going to hunt. I’ll be back soon,’ she told me as the line of soldiers looked my way.

I saluted them, gave a variation of the same speech I’d given Thunder Cliff and the other bases, and then followed Admiral Caruso to the mess hall. It was jam-packed with soldiers, but they gave us a wide berth. Caruso walked right to the front of the line as I followed with four guards flanking my left and right. I was beyond starving. I felt lightheaded and out of it, and I kicked myself for skipping breakfast and not having even a snack.

The admiral placed food on a tray for herself and then made one of her assistants make a tray for me. She led us to a table in the back, where a line of soldiers stood guard to keep anyone from sitting. It was weird to be segregated like this, but I’d have to get used to it. Being empress meant I was different now, no matter how much I didn’t want to be.

I tried to give a nod or small half-smile to everyone we passed, including the eating soldiers. My father only wanted to be feared, but I wanted to be a liked empress. I guess I wanted both. With fear came some amount of respect, but I wanted to be liked, too.

The guards parted like a curtain, and then I sat down across from Admiral Caruso. Her assistant set my food tray before me, and I wondered if I would ever be allowed to carry my own food again. Was it seen as beneath my station? I hadn’t ever seen my father cook for himself or do any menial task. There are people for that , he would say. I picked up my fork and stabbed a giant potato, holding it to my lips, about to take a bite, when a familiar voice shouted behind me.

“Aisling Everhart, drop it!”

I froze, eyes wide as I spun to see Elaine. Her cheeks were flushed, a few chunks of hair had sprung free of her bun, and her gaze took me in like a mother scanning her child for injuries. A lump formed in my throat. Vespa stood at her side, watching me with a cocked head.

The guards looked back at me and I nodded that they both be allowed in.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her. The guards broke apart, and she approached me. She was wearing her Imperial Fleet uniform, complete with her lieutenant pin. I hadn’t seen her in that uniform in a decade. How the hell had she gone from Riverine to Evergreen? She must have taken a train. Where were my sisters? I had so many questions.

Elaine peered from me to Admiral Caruso. “Did you have anyone taste her food?”

I glanced back at the admiral, who appeared confused. I knew the two were friends from their time in the Fleet, but there was an air of tension between them now. Elaine walked over to me and yanked the plate out from under me. Leaning forward, she got right in Admiral Caruso’s face. “Did. You. Taste. Her. Food?”

Understanding dawned on the admiral’s face. “There was no poison found in her father’s stomach. I highly doubt?—”

Elaine simply growled, cutting her off.

“Don’t forget your rank, Lieutenant Steele. I’m your superior,” the admiral warned my governess.

It took me a minute to remember that Elaine’s last name was Steele. I hadn’t heard her referred to like that in forever.

Elaine scoffed at that. “It was your job to keep the emperor alive. And it’s been my job for nineteen years to keep Aisling alive. Who’s doing better at their job?”

Ouch.

I winced at Elaine’s sharp rebuke. I knew she would take my father’s death badly, but this was pretty bad.

Admiral Caruso stood, toe to toe with Elaine. The admiral’s wolf creature began to circle Vespa, and I really just wanted to shovel potatoes and chicken into my mouth, but instead, I stood as well. This was one of many scenarios I was sure I would find myself in where I needed to de-escalate. Elaine, ironically, taught me all the de-escalation scenarios.

“Lieutenant Steele.” I wasn’t sure what was with the uniform—she hadn’t been active in the Fleet in forever—but I was going to assume she was wearing it for a reason, so I’d refer to her as such. “You were smart to think of my meal being poisoned. Can we get someone to taste it so I can eat before I start gnawing on my own arm?”

That caused the corner of her lips to quirk into a smile and she reached down and shoved a chunk of potato from my plate into her mouth and began to chew without taking her eyes off of Caruso. I didn’t mean her ! If anything happened to that woman, I would never forgive myself.

In exasperation, I faced Admiral Caruso. “Forgive Lieutenant Steele for overstepping, but like she said, she’s kept me alive and trained me for this very job my entire life. I trust her more than I trust any of you.”

Hurt flashed across the admiral’s face, but she swallowed hard and nodded. The point had been taken. If Elaine wanted extra steps taken to ensure my safety, I wanted that respected.

Elaine ripped off a hunk of chicken and then popped a candied green bean in her mouth, chewing as she stared down the admiral.

Caruso finally rolled her eyes and sat down, breaking the stare. “Okay, Lieutenant, you are right. I should assume all assassination attempts are going to be coming at our new empress. I’ll interview food tasters this week?—”

“No,” Elaine said, sitting as well and seemingly forgetting their tense argument now that she’d won. “I don’t trust anyone. I’ll do it.”

I sat down and faced her. “No way. I need you alive.”

Elaine turned to me, and there was so much pain in her eyes. We hadn’t talked about my father’s death, about me being sworn in, about anything.

“And I need you alive, Empress.” Her voice shook.

The word empress on her lips held so much more meaning. She’d literally educated me my entire life for this. I swallowed multiple times to try to dislodge the lump in my throat. Her hand squeezed mine under the table, and I squeezed back. It was probably the most emotion we would show over this whole thing.

“Fine,” I told her. “For now.” She let go of my hand and nodded.

Elaine looked under our table. “Has this area been scanned for explosives?”

“Of course it has! I’m not an idiot,” Admiral Caruso admonished.

“That’s debatable,” Elaine said, but there was a smirk on her lips.

The admiral shook her head, smiling a little too now. “What’s up with the uniform, Elaine?” She used her first name. I knew the two were close, but not sure how close. Being on a first-name basis was rare in the Fleet.

“The second I got back to Riverine with the triplets, I reenlisted and followed Aisling’s flyover to here,” she told us.

“You what?” I screeched. “Where are my sisters?” She was supposed to train them to be my replacement and keep them safe. How could she do that if she was back in the Fleet?

“They’re safe. I stashed them away where no one would think to look—at Tetra’s house. I will start interviewing a replacement for my position tomorrow,” she said in a low voice only Admiral Caruso and I could hear.

Replace Elaine? Impossible.

“But… they need you.” She was the only mother figure we had.

“You need me more, and I won’t have close access to you as a civilian,” Elaine said.

It took every ounce of self-control I had not to cry right then. Even now she was protecting me like she always had. She’d been inactive for so long, but I never really saw her as a civilian. She was right, though—she wouldn’t have clearance to join me in meetings or on base without being a soldier.

“I’m starving. When can I eat?” I asked her, resting my cast on the edge of the table. I wondered when I could take this thing off. It didn’t hurt anymore, but I didn’t want it to heal wrong.

She consulted her watch. “Two more minutes. Get used to cold food.”

I groaned. Over the next half hour, Elaine and Admiral Caruso talked about safety plans for my life going forward. The admiral got annoyed when Elaine found holes in her ideas. In the end, it was decided that the home I had grown up in was now a giant target. Everyone knew we lived there, and now that attacks on Riverine were possible, my sisters and I would be moving to a new, more modest home in an undisclosed location that only a handful of people would know about. The emperor’s home would still be a base of operations for meetings and some training for my sisters, but we would not sleep there.

The chicken and potatoes were cold, but no one died eating them, so I wasn’t going to complain about dinner. After finishing the food, I bid Elaine and Caruso farewell and told them I would meet them at the next stop before jumping on Liana and taking to the skies.

My last stop was the one I was dreading the most: Sky Reach. It was the most formidable of all the bases we had, and in control of it on a day-to-day basis was Jace’s father, Commander Ledger.

Sky Reach was now where I would be posted. My father used to travel there daily because he had the ability to create portals, but I would now have to live there, visiting Riverine and my sisters on weekends and the occasional holiday. To make things more awkward, I was the empress of the entire nation and leader of the Imperial Fleet, but I would still be undergoing training. I was skilled, but not yet at the level of these men and women. I’d never seen real battle. So they would have to train me by day and take my orders at night. Orders that would be given to me by a council of over a dozen hardened military leaders and advisors.

When Liana began her descent over the notorious base, nervousness flushed through my system, strong and fast. Sky Reach was where the baddest baddies in my father’s fleet—my fleet—went to serve. They took the most hits and delivered the worst blows to the Luska side.

I scanned the rows and rows of soldiers lined up in their wrinkle-free uniforms, stiff-backed and eyes forward. The lumps of dirt in the distance indicated underground bunkers, something Sky Reach was known for. Hundreds of creatures all lurked off to the side, standing as stiffly as their bonded in neat, coordinated rows.

Liana landed and not one head turned in my direction. These soldiers were well-trained.

“Empress.” Lead Commander Aldric Ledger saluted me as his tiger creature stood erect at his side. Hiro’s white fur was streaked with red ember marks. The tiger looked powerful and majestic as he peered up at me. He imbued the commander with extreme strength, enough to tear a man in half without breaking a sweat. I looked up at the sharp lines of the commander’s face, and my heart pinched a little. He looked so much like Jace, but Jace felt like a lifetime ago, and I’d made my peace with that betrayal.

“Commander Ledger,” I said, which was so weird because I grew up calling him Aldric. I saluted him back, remarking on the fact that I’d had dinner with him and his wife a hundred times. And in that moment, I was reminded of Jace’s admission that his parents were getting divorced. It shocked me now to even think of it. They were perfect, or had been, but nothing was perfect anymore.

“I’m sorry to hear about your father,” he said.

I nodded my thanks but was spared small talk when Elaine and Admiral Caruso exited the car they’d just rolled in on. Liana had been forced to fly slowly along the roads to keep pace with them at Elaine’s insistence. Otherwise, we would have been here in half the time.

“I look forward to this war meeting so that we can pay back these iceheads for what they’ve done,” Commander Ledger growled as Elaine and Caruso walked up.

“Me too,” I told him as Elaine and Caruso gave a small salute by way of greeting.

The commander was my father’s most trusted advisor. I knew that I would be expected to take his advice. I glanced around. “Where is the podium?” I asked.

The commander peered down at me from his towering height. “My troops don’t need some mushy speech. They need orders. When are we hitting the Luskins back?”

“Shall we just start the meeting, then?” Admiral Caruso asked. “I’m sure you are brimming with ideas.”

The commander nodded and moved to lead us back to a black brick building in the center of the base.

They didn’t need a speech, he’d said, but I didn’t want someone to just take orders from me without knowing why. I didn’t want them blindly following me just because I was my father’s daughter. The troops stood still in their rows, facing forward, their creatures off to the side as if awaiting instruction. I walked over to a park bench that was sitting off to the side. The metal scraped against the crushed rock as I pulled it over to the front of the troops, facing them head-on.

Admiral Caruso, Elaine, and the lead commander all halted their journey to the brick building in the center of the base as they looked at me expectantly. I leaped up onto the bench and faced my Imperial Fleet.

“Sky Reach!” I bellowed, having no microphone. “ You are the heart of the Imperial Fleet!” I let my words of praise wash over them and noticed how some of them stood a little taller, watching me in anticipation. I could show no weakness to these men, lest I lose their respect. “You are the crown jewel and the greatest weapon we have. I will need you in the days to come as I plot my revenge on the Luskins for what they’ve taken from us. For attacking our peaceful capital of Riverine, for the murder of my father, your emperor!” I screamed the last bit until my voice was raw.

The soldiers chanted then, Ha-rooh, Ha-rooh, Ha-rooh . It was a call to arms, something only the Sky Reach soldiers did.

“I grew up playing in Emberlane Park in Riverine. I’ve fished in the streams of Cedar Creek. I’ve collected shells at Marble Shores and hiked the Golden Hills! This land is my land, your land. We have to decide now what we want to leave for future generations. Will we pass down this war to them, or will we conquer Luska for once and for all and end this?!”

The response was deafening. The soldiers broke rank, throwing their fists into the air and screaming so loud that spittle flew from their mouths. They were bloodthirsty, which is exactly how I wanted them. It was exactly how I wanted to set them loose on our enemies.

I stepped off the bench and walked over to where the commander, admiral, and Elaine were waiting for me. The commander appeared slightly annoyed that I’d given the speech, and I knew that with my father gone, he might treat me like some young juvenile who didn’t know what they were doing. We’d have to work that out. The soldiers were still chanting when I reached him. “Looks like they do enjoy a good speech after all,” I told him.

His nostrils flared, but he nodded. “Looks like they do.”

He led Caruso away, but I hung back with Elaine.

“I’ll have to take speech-writing lessons. I have no idea what I’m doing,” I told her.

Her eyes looked misty as she gave me a crooked smile. “Oh, Aisling, you don’t need speech lessons. You know exactly what you are doing. I’m proud of you, and your father would be too.”

The compliment caught me off guard. Elaine always had some tidbit of advice; nothing was ever perfect for her. We could always improve.

With that, she led me across the courtyard to the famed brick building. A sign stood on a metal pole out front.

“ Command Center: War Room. Approved personnel only ,” it read. To the right of the building were a half dozen creatures, probably too large to fit in the room. A lion, an elephant, two wolves, a coyote, and I recognized Admiral Blade’s gorilla, Sahiri.

Only when I stepped inside did the chanting of the soldiers outside finally fade. I took stock of the command center and war room, my palms tingling with excitement. I’d only ever glanced in here. My father had intended, of course, to take me to meetings, but on our last visit, he’d said we were short on time, so I’d never officially joined one. The walls were covered in maps, and each map had colored pins or areas circled with notes. On the back wall were two phones and over a dozen handheld radios that squawked with constant information. Over a dozen advisors, ranging from generals to admirals, all stood around a large oak table, and the entire space smelled of coffee. I followed the smell to the pot brewing in the corner. A half dozen creatures stood near their bonded, while those in the room who stood without bonded were probably the ones I had seen outside.

‘I’m out here if you need me,’ Liana said as if reading my mind.

“Empress.” One of the generals turned and saluted me as the rest followed.

This was it. My first war room meeting. My father used to spend hours here with Jace’s dad, planning what the next move in the war would be. Then he’d come home and tell me over dinner about the different battle strategies our fleet used and why. I’d literally been training for this my entire life, and yet I felt so small and wildly out of place at that moment. I felt like an imposter. The only reason I stood here was because I was born of my father’s bloodline. That was it.

“What is a lieutenant doing here?” Admiral Mirza asked as he eyed Elaine’s rank pin.

Elaine opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it.

“She’s my most trusted advisor,” I told him, daring him with my gaze to fight me on this. My father told me that one day, when I took over for him, I’d have to push to gain the respect he had. That his men wouldn’t follow anyone weak.

The admiral cleared his throat but nodded.

I approached the table. “I’m eager to listen to all of your ideas on how we can make the Luskins pay after what they did in Riverine, so let’s hear it.”

The large oak table looked like it had seen hundreds of hours of battle itself. It was covered in knicks, scratches, and coffee cup rings, but I felt so honored to stand over it. It came to about waist high, with no chairs, and right now it was covered with maps of Luska and figurines that signified their army and bases.

Three hours, dinner, and two cups of coffee later, I’d heard every idea. I listened with rapt attention and head nods, giving my opinion and hearing theirs. My team of advisor’s best idea was something they had argued over for nearly an hour. It involved sending in a lethal team of a dozen assassins via a ground assault to plant explosives at the Red Palace in Luska Square. But I nixed it because there was no way a dozen men with a dozen creatures were getting clear into the capital without getting caught, tortured, and eventually killed. There was a reason we hadn’t tried that before. I didn’t want to lose men just for the sake of trying something new. The Luskins would hang their bodies on the Wall to humiliate us. No, it needed to be a plan we could execute perfectly.

“We could poison the river. It flows that way, and we would warn Imbria not to drink from it or bathe?—”

I cut Commander Ledger off. “No way. That would kill innocent civilians. Luskin children play in the river. We abide by the War Code even when Luska does not,” I warned.

Rule number one: No killing civilians on purpose .

I had never faulted Luskin citizens for their war-thirsty rulers.

The commander glared at me. “Luskin children who will grow up to be Luskin soldiers.”

I nodded. “And then we will kill them, but not a moment before.”

I wasn’t sure what kind of ship my father had been running, but poisoning children wasn’t going to happen under my rule.

“There has to be another plan,” I said, starting to feel my mind fraying at the edges. How long ago did I see my father’s dead body lie in the morgue with purple lips? Was that just this morning? It felt like ages ago. I hadn’t slept in what felt like years, and I still had to see my sisters and name a successor and?—

“We need to go back to the idea of sending in an elite team,” the commander said. “A dozen of my best men. They know the consequences. They are willing to die for revenge.” Many of his generals grunted their agreement.

I rolled my eyes, losing my patience with this plan. “You seriously think that after what they did in Riverine, they won’t be watching the border like crazy? They will have checkpoints every quarter mile, creatures patrolling with super-smelling capabilities. It’s reckless, it won’t work, and it will make us look like fools.” I’d been taking battle strategy training since I was a child, from my own father. It was a bad plan.

My advisors didn’t like my calling their plan reckless. I could tell by the steely gazes they were giving me.

“What do you suggest then, Empress?” Admiral Blade asked. “We shoot some fire over the Wall like usual and hope we hit something?”

He was condescending, and I didn’t appreciate it.

‘They will be watching the ground, but they won’t be watching the skies,’ Liana interjected.

I cocked my head to the side. ‘What do you mean?’

I had long come to terms with the fact that my creature could listen in on my conversations, or read minds, or both.

‘I can fly, so can Onyx. We can deliver the payload to the Red Palace and blow it sky high.’

Chills raced the length of my arms. Kohen and I? Fly into Luska and blow up the Red Palace? It was crazy. Or genius. Or both.

“They won’t be watching the skies. I could fly on my creature and deliver the explosive over the Red Palace,” I told the surrounding men and women.

Eyes widened, mouths opened, and several ‘No’s’ were uttered, but the commander appraised me with a head cocked. “You’re our empress. You could not go alone.”

I hated what I was about to suggest and how they would react to it.

“Kohen Badshah also has a flying creature,” I said. The worst part was that I knew he’d do it, too. For me. For my dead father. For Amersea.

The room exploded into disagreement.

“You want us to trust a Badshah with protecting our empress?” Admiral Miraz admonished.

But again, the commander didn’t completely balk at the idea. “How many men can your creature comfortably carry? With the payload.”

‘You, plus one other, plus the heavy explosive,’ said Liana.

“Just one other plus the explosive,” I relayed.

“And Badshah?” the commander asked.

‘Three men, including Kohen,’ Liana said, and I told the war room.

“Does Kohen have to go? Do you? Can we just borrow your creatures instead?” Elaine asked, clearly worried for me.

“It’s a good question,” Admiral Caruso agreed.

‘I will do as you ask of me, Aisling,’ Liana said, and I felt her loyalty through the bond. She wouldn’t like it, but she would act like a horse and carry whatever I asked of her.

But I could never do that. There was no way in hell I was sending my creature into Luska alone with some strangers.

“No,” I growled. “If we do this plan and send our creatures into danger, then Kohen and I will lead the mission.”

One by one the advisors bristled.

“We’ve just lost our beloved emperor. Now we are supposed to be okay with sending our new empress into enemy territory with a few trained men?” Elaine asked, keeping her voice sharp and strong. But I saw the agony in her eyes.

Commander Ledger sighed. “Lieutenant Steele is right. It’s a huge risk. I hate to have this conversation so quickly, but have you chosen a successor? One of your sisters will need to be taken under your wing and begin her training.”

Before I could even open my mouth, Elaine puffed her chest up. “ All three of the triplets have been raised to rule this country since they could walk. Empress Aisling will name her successor when she’s ready, and of course, their training will be accelerated now that the emperor is gone.”

She’d taken offense to the question, which I understood. It was her job to raise us up for this position, a job she took very seriously. I was glad she’d jumped in because I wasn’t yet ready to say which of my sisters should be the next leader should I perish. By right of birth, it was Valor’s place to rule, but I could overturn that if I thought someone else was ready. They were all babies; it was a hard thing to even think about. I’d wanted them to have what I didn’t.

A childhood.

“I will fly home tonight, speak to Kohen Badshah, and then we can be back here in twenty-four hours to run the mission tomorrow night. You can work on the details in my absence.”

The advisors exchanged nervous glances. Flying a large explosive deep into enemy territory was terrifying, but it would be worth it. They idolized their beloved Red Palace, and leveling it would be the perfect retribution for taking my father’s life—for shattering the peace that Riverine once had.

“That was an order,” I said. My first order, one of many I would issue. It was a good plan, and they were only hesitant because they cared about losing me, which was a good sign that they would grow to be as loyal to me as they were to my father.

“See you in twenty-four hours,” the commander said, and just like that, the mission was approved, and I’d survived my first war meeting.

Now I had to go break up whatever I had started with Kohen and then ask him to risk his life for his country.

I felt like I was going to throw up.