Chapter 2

When Nathaniel passed through the doorway that led into the dignitary room of Oeiras, a piercing alarm went off from hidden spell-detectors. Every single praetoria legionnaire within the grand room and outside it in the hall unholstered their pistols with deft speed and aimed the weapons at him.

Chief Minister Caelum raised both his hands in a placating manner, appearing unbothered by the greeting. He spoke in the trade tongue, which was a kindness for Nathaniel and the others with him who weren't quite fluent in Solarian and none of which were fluent in Tovanian. "The Ashionen representatives have been cleared by our magicians and granted leave of the premises by His Imperial Majesty. There is no threat from rionetkas, for none stand with us."

Nathaniel froze where he stood just past the doorway, along with the others. As warm as those words made him feel, he didn't breathe until the praetoria legionnaires reluctantly holstered their pistols at a wave from the Imperial emperor, though none removed their hands from the grips. Ambassador Dariush Zayed, doing double duty to Solaria and the Tovan Isles as Ashion's envoy, stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Your Imperial Majesty," Dariush said, offering up the greeting in Solarian. That phrase, at least, Nathaniel knew, for he'd been taught it on the flight over.

Nathaniel hastily bowed as well, trying not to feel as if the cravat wrapped around his throat was choking him. It'd felt like that for the past week and a half ever since Caris had given the order that he was to be her personal representative to the Tovanians. Predictably, there'd been arguments, all of which she'd ignored, despite the persistent attempts to change her mind. She'd put her foot down as queen and would not be swayed, sending Nathaniel west on an Ashionen airship, carrying a letter written by her own hand that he was meant to deliver to the Tovanian ambassador.

Dariush had already been in Oeiras since Caris had asked him to continue his diplomatic duties in the wake of the murders that had occurred in their embassy in Calhames. Nathaniel had traveled with a hastily gathered group of diplomatic aides to lend support to Dariush's mission in Solaria. He hoped what had occurred in Calhames would not be repeated here in Oeiras.

Imperial emperor Vanya Sa'Liandel, of the House of Sa'Liandel, stared at them with piercing dark eyes, his white robes edged in crimson and gold embroidery gleaming in the sunlight pouring through the high open windows of the strange dignitary room. His golden crown glittered like starfire, drawing the eye.

Vanya nodded gravely to them, his gaze lingering like a heavy thing on Nathaniel, who tried not to shift on his feet. He'd come a long way from being the son of a merchant, but he still didn't feel as if he belonged, either here in this grand Imperial estate or in his own body some days.

"Solaria bids you welcome," Vanya said, opting to speak in the trade tongue. He turned slightly so that he could gesture at the floating cabana behind him, where the Tovanians stood. "May I present Uri'ka Akeheni, of the ship-city Matariki."

Dariush bowed again, and Nathaniel followed his lead. Dariush kept to the trade tongue when he spoke. "We thank you for your hospitality in facilitating these talks, Your Imperial Majesty. Our queen sends her thanks as well to both you and Uri'ka Akeheni."

The Tovanian in question was an imposing figure, standing at the head of her delegation, arms crossed over her chest as she studied them. Caelum ushered them all farther into the room, and when they reached the edge of the pool, Nathaniel was able to make out the tattoos on the ambassador's face. His curiosity was left by the wayside when the emperor addressed him.

"I understand from Queen Caris that you speak for her, Mr. Clementine?" Vanya said.

"Only in so far as I can give voice to the state I have unwillingly found myself in and to sign on my queen's behalf, Your Imperial Majesty," Nathaniel said after a quick glance at Dariush. "The good ambassador is in charge of everything else."

He knew that Dariush had been making headway with the Tovanians ever since Caris had tasked him with initiating alliance talks. Nathaniel knew nothing about the ways of diplomacy, but if it was anything like a business contract, it would be easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of details, and they did not have much time for that.

"What state do you find yourself in?" Akeheni asked.

Nathaniel hesitated a moment before lifting his chin, meeting her gaze without flinching. "I and the rest of my family were arrested before the riot protesting taxes and debt bondage occurred in Amari. While imprisoned, I was—I became—" He swallowed hard, rallying himself after a moment of silence. "The Klovod turned me into a rionetka and used me to try to murder my queen. The wardens were able to undo the compulsion but not remove it. I still carry magic in my clockwork metal heart, but at least my mind is my own these days."

A soft murmur rose from the group of people on the cabana and those few ranged down the table by the side of the pool. Nathaniel easily read the concern and wariness that appeared on people's faces, but he didn't offer any comfort.

Akeheni frowned at him, her gaze dropping briefly to his chest and the neatly done-up waistcoat and shirt he wore that hid his vivisection scars. "Your queen trusts you?"

She was the only one who did, it seemed like, though Nathaniel didn't give voice to that thought. "Yes."

"A risky choice to make."

"I love her," Nathaniel said quietly. "As she loves me. But we both love our country just as much, and some risks must be taken to win this war. I come here as a warning for the ills that Eimarille will do to anyone but also to show how far we'll go to fight against her."

Akeheni didn't reveal how she felt, but Nathaniel was familiar with the unease people felt when they knew what kind of heart beat in his chest. Still, the Tovanian Uri'ka didn't immediately request he be removed from the talks, and Nathaniel was allowed to sit at the table set aside for the Ashionen delegation. The emperor, he noted, did not take a seat, conferring quietly with the Chief Minister for a moment before addressing the room at large.

"My ambassador to the Tovan Isles will remain to ensure Solaria is represented for your talks. We hold an alliance with the Tovanians, and any alliance made will affect our own borders," Vanya said before sweeping out of the room, Caelum following after him.

Dariush cleared his throat from his spot beside Nathaniel before opening up the talks. They didn't have time for flowery courtesy, not with the front lines of the war now grinding west instead of east one incremental mile at a time. He'd left behind the skies filled with airships and the poison fields trampled by the feet of the Legion and Ashion armies, but all of their efforts would be worth nothing if they failed here, at this table.

Nathaniel was a merchant, and in some ways, diplomacy was about selling yourself to the right buyer. But he was not so nearly skilled in that area as Dariush, and so he rarely spoke up in the days that followed, there as Caris' proxy in the event the Tovanians agreed to the desperately needed and wanted alliance.

Five days after their arrival in Oeiras, Nathaniel's breakfast of food not spiced quite as much as it had been the last few times was interrupted by an Ashionen clerk escorting a Tovanian into the embassy's inner courtyard used for all the meals. Dariush paused in ripping a piece of flatbread in half, everyone seated at the low table eyeing the newcomers. Nathaniel had come to learn that, when in another country, diplomats were summoned, never visited.

Dariush proved to be rather adept at unexpected surprises, dropping the bread and hastily swallowing the bite of food he'd taken. Dariush stood and offered a shallow bow in greeting while everyone else remained seated. "Is something amiss?"

"Uri'ka Akeheni wishes to speak with Mr. Clementine," the Tovanian said in accented Ashionen.

"We can present ourselves to the Uri'ka at the Imperial estate shortly."

The Tovanian shook his head, thick curls swaying with the motion. "Just him."

Nathaniel slowly set down his teacup, the sweet chai turning rancid on his tongue as a spike of panic wound through him. Clearing his throat, he stood beneath Dariush's heavy gaze, offering his own bow to the Tovanian. "I am at the Uri'ka's disposal."

Dariush's fingers snagged the soft cotton of his sleeve, the older man bending his head in a bid for privacy as he switched from the trade tongue to Ashionen. "Do not agree to anything without me present."

Because Nathaniel's words would be binding on behalf of Caris, whereas Dariush's would not. "Of course."

Nathaniel left the inner courtyard, falling into step beside the Tovanian and waved off the clerk. He escorted the Tovanian through the living quarters of the embassy into the ones meant for government work and beyond them to the small forecourt where a motor carriage waited for them. He was surprised to see Akeheni standing beside the open door, an elbow resting on the window frame, the other on the roof of the motor carriage. She smiled at him in greeting, though it did not reach her eyes, the tattoos on her face pulling with the motion.

"Oh," Nathaniel said, startled by her presence. "Uri'ka, we would have welcomed you inside."

"Your embassy isn't built with my people in mind. Too unmoving. I know it is early, but there is someone who wants to meet you back on my ship," Akeheni said.

For one moment, Nathaniel could not move, and it felt as if the Klovod had his fingers in his mind again, controlling his limbs and breaking his heart. He knew she was not the enemy, but it still took effort to make his lungs work, and by the time he'd sucked in a strangled breath, Akeheni's expression had settled into something like an apology.

"It is not anyone who would do you harm. They just dislike the land, and our ship is a better place for such conversation we must have," Akeheni said, not unkindly.

Before he'd had his heart carved out, he would've been inclined to trust her. Now, Nathaniel wanted desperately to bring another with him, but the rest of the Ashionen delegation had been denied an invitation. Nathaniel could only join Akeheni in the back seat while the aide got situated behind the steering wheel.

It was a quicker ride to the port than it would've been during midday, the streets not clogged with as many vehicles or people. Those up and about were of the working class, putting in the hours before the searing noon heat would drive everyone inside. The humidity was thick even that early, causing Nathaniel to roll down the window to get air flowing through the motor carriage. The Eastern Basin was hot, but it was a dryer heat than in Oeiras. By the time they made it to the outer wall and through the gate to the river port, Nathaniel's clothes were sticking to his skin from sweat, and he could taste the salt of it on his lips.

Oeiras' port was a bustling mini city of its own, dozens of berths, civilian docks, and commercial loading docks stretching down the shore of the Tirsha River. Anchored at a long pier was a sleek steam-powered ship whose design was far different from the other ships docked in the port. Nathaniel squinted against the sunlight as he got out of the motor carriage, taking it in.

"The frigate is part of our ship-city. It's small enough to traverse the inland waterway when we need to come to shore," Akeheni said.

Its hull was black iron but painted a riot of colors not unlike how the E'ridians painted their airships. No mast was needed for sailing, not like some personal riverboats had, and its pair of chimneys were empty of smoke at the moment. The port and aft sides didn't match in terms of design, with the port side that aligned with the dock having struts protruding outward in a way that indicated they were meant to lock onto something.

"I thought it would be larger," Nathaniel said.

Akeheni chuckled. "It's meant for maneuverability. It connects to our ship-city, which is anchored out at sea while we are here. Come, they are waiting."

Someone up on the high deck called down to them in Tovanian, and Akeheni responded in the same language. Nathaniel didn't know what was being said, but he could follow gestures well enough. The gangplank was winched out, dockworkers securing it to the pier. Akeheni jogged up it with easy steps, Nathaniel following her a little less easily. The river water lapped at the hull of the ship below, and he caught a glimpse of gun holes before he made it to the deck.

Unlike on an airship, no shadows from a balloon offered up shade in the face of the rising sun. Nathaniel lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the glare, gamely following Akeheni across a deck designed for the sea as opposed to the air, no lifelines crossing overhead or hooks needing to be used. He wondered if that changed due to the weather but set that question aside in favor of greeting the person Akeheni led him to meet at the stern.

He was surprised when Akeheni took a knee, fist held over her heart and curly head bowing in respect. When she spoke, she opted for the trade tongue, but her tone held a deep respect that had been offered to no one in the Imperial estate, not even the emperor.

"My guiding star, I have answered your call," Akeheni said.

At first, Nathaniel had thought the golden design on the person's back had been stitched onto a Solarian robe. He froze when he realized that it was no embroidery but the distinct golden lines of a constellation tattoo cutting through tanned brown skin. Part of the golden lines and starbursts that made up the Leviathan tattoo was hidden by the fall of long hair pulled off their neck by sturdy leather ties into a tight queue. When they turned at Akeheni's words, Nathaniel found himself looking into a face he'd seen before in some Star Order prayer books, their visage always an afterthought to his own country's guiding star but still ever present in the religion that all of Maricol's children followed.

Farren quirked a smile at him, their dark eyes pinning him much how he thought a harpoon might pin a leviathan. They were shirtless, their loose linen trousers belted in place around slim hips. They were barefoot, seemingly unbothered by the hot metal deck they stood on. But for all the kindness in their face, Nathaniel could not stop the way his knees went weak, and he staggered in the face of a star god.

"Oh," he said weakly. "Hail to the Eclipse Star."

He hastily locked his knees and bowed, breath a ragged sound in his ears. Despite his unease, his clockwork metal heart still beat at a steady pace, and he kept his gaze on the deck, wondering if the sweat sliding down the back of his neck was from the weather or nerves.

"I don't expect your prayers or your loyalty. You are one of my sister's children," Farren said, their voice lilting a bit with a humor Nathaniel didn't understand.

He rose out of his bow only when Akeheni stood again. He blinked rapidly, looking everywhere but at the star god. "Regardless, I am yours to command."

Farren hummed thoughtfully at that before stepping closer, bringing with them the scent of the sea. The edges of their constellation tattoo curled over their shoulders, the golden points catching the sunlight and glittering on their skin. "Aaralyn would be displeased if I asked that of you."

"I have never had the honor of the North Star's attention."

"Consider yourself lucky. Her favor isn't easy."

Nathaniel thought briefly of the Rourke children and the war spiraling out from their roads and barely contained a wince. "Yes, so I have seen."

Farren studied him for a moment, the shouts of the dockworkers below drifting up to the deck. "Your clockwork metal heart isn't the progress we'd hoped for this Age. I suppose Innes would find it acceptable, but he has always dreamed bigger than I."

Nathaniel gave them a helpless look. "What do you want of me?"

"I wanted to see for myself the future Innes wants to build. It is one I do not approve of."

"Will you help us fix it?"

"Televoxes don't reach across the waves easily, but prayers do. I have been listening and guiding those who must be involved with agreeing to the alliance you seek. My children do not care for the sturdiness of land, but they know what is fought there will eventually spill into the sea."

"The ship-cities are willing to fight," Akeheni said, glancing at him.

Nathaniel, well aware of the intense negotiations that had been ongoing for the past few days, let out a shuddering breath. "Ambassador Zayed will be pleased to hear that."

"Yes, and I will agree to such an effort, if only to stop my brother's madness." Farren tilted their head, gaze unblinking as they studied Nathaniel. "Xaxis might claim the depths under the ice, but the open sea has always been mine and my children's domain. I'll not give it to him or Innes simply for the sake of some long-forgotten dream that should never have been remembered."

Nathaniel had no idea what the Eclipse Star meant by that and so remained silent.

"We have your blessing, then, my guiding star?" Akeheni asked.

Farren inclined their head. "Yes. All the other ship-cities are in agreement as well."

Akeheni looked fiercely pleased about that as she hooked her thumbs over the top of her leather belt. "We shall do you proud."

"And my waves will ever guide you."

Nathaniel let out a careful breath, shoulders loosening a little. "On behalf of my queen and country, I thank you."

"Oh, you'll be coming with my children," Farren said, almost cheerfully, nearly making Nathaniel choke on his breath. "You and all the other soldiers who will storm the shores of Daijal when the blockade is broken."

"But I'm not a soldier," Nathaniel protested weakly.

"You are not, but you must be kept safe long enough to get your queen to Amari." Farren reached out and tapped his chest, their touch seemingly vibrating through his bones down to the metal he carried behind his ribs. "You'll reach the shore again, but for now, let the waves cradle you."

A loud clang startled Nathaniel, and he jerked his head to the side out of instinct to see a pair of deckhands arguing over a crate that had been dropped. When he turned his head around again, he found the space that Farren had occupied empty, but the weight of their touch lingered on him.

"Come," Akeheni said, gesturing for Nathaniel to follow her across the deck once more. "Let us return to the Imperial estate and talk of war."