Chapter 8

The borrowed estate that passed as the Auclair bloodline's home in Cosian was a far cry from the one in Amari where Honovi had once been received. Still, the servants who greeted him were just as professional, and the duchess was her same regal self when he was escorted into the parlor with its violet-colored wallpaper, glass display shelves of porcelain figurines, and enough flowers in vases to make him want to sneeze.

Meleri rose to her feet at his arrival, giving Honovi a quick and shallow curtsy as due his social station of a jarl to Clan Storm. In the grand hierarchy of manners, he outranked her, but her own political reach was nothing to discount.

"It is good to see you again, jarl Honovi," Meleri said.

"Duchess Auclair," Honovi replied. "Thank you for having me."

Meleri gestured at the only other seat at the small round table. The wooden chair was nicely cushioned, the fabric a pale blue that went well with the violet saturating the room. The spread on the table looked delicious, and the tea the servant poured for him after he sat was the green he preferred over the floral one Meleri favored.

The servant set the teapot down on its silver tray before sketching a bow and leaving the parlor, closing the door behind them for privacy. Meleri's gaze never wavered from Honovi's. "Is Blaine with Caris today?"

They'd all met for a many-course dinner last night at the dining room here in the estate, where nothing of the war was discussed. Nathaniel had sat by Caris for the entire meal, and his presence alone had required careful conversation.

"They're still working on his mechanical prosthetic, and she wanted to introduce him to a warden she's been partnering with in her company's laboratory."

"Ah, Enmei. A pragmatic fellow."

"How many wardens do you have in the city?"

"They come and go, but there are at least two dozen who have resided here on a continuous basis since last year. A few of those have been in the thick of command meetings. My understanding is the fort on the Warden's Island is still undergoing cleanup and construction. Creating alchemy-based weapons here takes the heat off the island."

The wardens had lost many tithes and those wardens with specialized knowledge during the attack on the island, to say nothing of the vast historical records they'd meticulously kept since the Poison Accords were signed. The attack by Daijal had seen every warden retreat out of that country as well as Urova, leaving the revenants for the living to handle on their own.

E'ridia's diplomats still had a presence in Urova out of political necessity, even if they'd been recalled from Daijal. Honovi knew smaller towns and even some cities in Urova were concerned about the uptick in revenants clawing at their walls. But when one allied themselves with an aggressor, they couldn't be surprised at the fallout.

Revenants were impossible to control. Daijal could send bodies through their death-defying machines to create revenants, but unlike with rionetkas, the walking dead took orders from no one.

"The wardens are still assisting the war effort?" Honovi asked.

Meleri reached for one of the tiny squares of sweet cake on the tray with a pair of silver tongs, placing it on her ceramic plate. The savory dishes outnumbered the sweet ones due to a sugar shortage. "They have pledged their support against Daijal."

It was telling that she didn't say it was for the Ashion cause. "For how long?"

"The wardens' governor promised until the war was over."

"And if Daijal wins?"

Meleri took a dainty sip of her tea, gaze never leaving Honovi's face. "You and your people could be the deciding factor in that never happening."

"I know Daijal won't stop at Ashion's borders. My father believes the same as well, especially after the rionetka infiltration of our government. But the Comhairle nan Cinnidhean believes closing the border will keep us safe."

"That's a death sentence with the way Eimarille is fighting. Even the Eastern Spine won't protect you."

"Getting troops across it isn't feasible. There's only a handful of railroads that traverse it."

"One can go above or around."

He tipped his head in acknowledgment of that before reaching for one of the small, neatly cut sandwiches on the tiered tray between them. "E'ridia survived your civil war in the past."

Meleri set her teacup down. "This isn't a civil war."

Which was true. In no other war in Maricol's history had someone attacked the Warden's Island. That alone had changed the fundamental details of the fight happening within Ashion's borders. But it wasn't enough for E'ridia or Solaria to lend their military might to the fight. "I've said as much to my father."

"And has that swayed him?"

"If it had, I would have arrived with more airships than just the one."

Meleri sighed tiredly, looking every year her age in that moment. "Our capital is under occupation, and the starfire throne is inaccessible. If Caris put out the North Star's decree, if she was seen as the rightful queen, would your people find sympathy with our plight and give us aid?"

"You'd have to get her into Amari. My understanding is that's a losing battle for you right now."

Honovi was aware of the restrictions placed on that capital city and the broken chains of cogs that stretched away from it. Nathaniel, in his role as a rionetka, had done his damnedest to destroy the cogs he'd been in charge of, creating a cascade failure of death the Clockwork Brigade hadn't yet recovered from. More than that was the fierceness with which the Daijal army had moved to control that central province. The front lines of the war had started in the western provinces last year but were farther east now, a testament to Daijal's strength.

"I haven't heard from my oldest daughter since we left for Veran last year," Meleri said quietly. "We've stopped the rescue of debt slaves because we haven't the people to spare. The Marshal managed to send news that Eimarille is feeding not just the fallen but prisoners of war and debt slaves to her death-defying machines. She doesn't care about the living, and the dead are just cannon fodder to her."

"Does Caris know?"

Meleri curled her finger through the delicate handle of her teacup but didn't raise it to her mouth. "She's aware of the use Eimarille has for the battlefield fallen. I haven't spoken to her about the possibility her parents might already be dead."

Honovi remembered well how badly Caris took being lied to. "You should tell her."

"I only mean to spare her that grief."

"She won't think kindly of your efforts. You can't coddle her if you want an independent queen."

Meleri smiled, though there wasn't any humor in her expression. "Your husband said something similar to me once."

"You should probably listen to him."

Meleri finally picked up her teacup and sipped the sweet-smelling liquid. "Is it your opinion that your country will not give military aid? Are the ambassadors we sent a wasted effort?"

"Keep your people in Glencoe. Having an Ashionen presence to remind our contemporaries of the ongoing threat is important."

They made small talk for the rest of the meeting, Meleri's disappointment at Honovi's inability to promise military aid from E'ridia swept away with political deftness. When Honovi had only crumbs on his plate and the teapots were empty, Meleri stood. "I want to thank you for meeting with me, jarl Honovi."

"I'm sorry I couldn't bring better news," Honovi said as he pushed his chair back and stood. "I?—"

The piercing sound of a warning siren ripped through the air, freezing them both. The color left Meleri's face as she reached for the back of her chair to hold herself steady. Honovi's hand went immediately to the gas mask hanging from his belt. He didn't see one on Meleri's person, but a quick glance around showed one resting on a nearby side table. He hurried to retrieve it, bringing it over to her.

"It's not the tone pattern for spores, but thank you," Meleri said.

"Revenants, then?"

Meleri nodded. "Yes. They come in a horde not typically seen in the wild. We believe Daijal is transporting them somehow but not using the regular roads."

"The back roads are dangerous." The only people known to frequent those areas were wardens, and no warden would give aid to Daijal.

"It hasn't stopped their attacks."

Meleri clutched the gas mask to her chest and headed for the door. Honovi followed after her, unsurprised when, moments later, Dureau came racing around the corner right when the warning sirens changed pitch. "Mother! There are airships in the sky and revenants making their way to the walls."

Meleri rocked to a halt so abruptly Honovi had to put a hand beneath her elbow to make sure she stayed upright. "They'll try to bomb us again."

"Again?" Honovi asked sharply.

Meleri reached for her son, urging him back down the hallway. "Eimarille knows Caris calls Cosian home. She'll keep dropping bombs until her air force finds its target. Didn't you see the damage to the city on your flight in?"

Honovi remembered the pockets of rubble between the city's inner walls, knowing the damage must have been from an attack, but hadn't thought much of it until now. "What is your protocol for an aerial bombardment?"

Dureau grimaced as he slipped his arm around his mother's waist to guide her forward. "We head to the basement and leave the defense of the city to the military."

As much as Honovi wanted to leave to go to his husband, he knew the streets wouldn't be safe in a time like this. Caoimhe would have left a skeleton crew on the Celestial Sprite. He didn't know if she'd give an order for them to lend support to the Ashionen military airships anchored in the airfield or not. Despite captaining the airship into Ashionen space, he wasn't the officer in charge of the crew, and Caoimhe knew the restrictions placed on E'ridia's air force just as surely as he did.

That didn't stop Honovi from pausing at the basement door near the servants' quarter and pulling his televox from a belt pouch. The clarion crystal–powered device wasn't widely available to the general public in any country, but his position as jarl meant he couldn't do without. As his husband, Blaine carried his own as well.

"We're safe," Blaine assured him when he answered. "We're heading to a bunker beneath the Six Point Mechanics laboratory. I'll lose connection soon."

The cage around Honovi's heart loosened a bit. "We're heading to our own. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"I'm here, and I will come to you after this is over. I love you. Be safe."

"I love you, too."

The call ended, and Honovi ignored the soldier frantically gesturing at him to head down into the basement in favor of ringing Caoimhe. As the ranking military officer on their flight, she had her own televox, and she picked up after the first chiming ring.

"Jarl," she said, sounding a bit breathless, as if she were running.

"I'm with the Duchess Auclair. Blaine is safe with Caris," he said.

"They've closed the city gates, but I'm hoping to get through to the airfield with the other military assets."

"Are you going to launch?"

"Being anchored makes us a target."

"Will you go for altitude, or will you fight?"

"I'd be a poor aeronaut if I ran from a Daijalan airship. We didn't go searching for the fight; it came to us."

It might not be enough of an excuse for the commanding officers back in E'ridia to accept, but Honovi would back her if she faced a disciplinary board. "May the Dusk Star guide you true."

Caoimhe didn't respond, the repetitive sound of an ended call echoing in his ear. She'd do her duty while Honovi hid, and it galled him that he couldn't be on the flight deck with her. Tucking the televox away, he descended the stairs to the basement, where Meleri and Dureau huddled with their people and a handful of soldiers as well for security reasons.

Someone had brought Meleri a coat, and the duchess was wrapped up in warm wool to ward off the chill in the underground space that acted both as storage and safety. Honovi could see areas of the cement floor that were less stained than others, whatever crates that had once been there now removed, most likely to make room for moments like this. While some people appeared frightened, most were quietly resigned, with a weariness in their faces that spoke of having been in this exact situation before.

Honovi went to sit beside Meleri on an old wooden bench, Dureau scooting over to make room for him. She nodded at his approach, lips pressed into a trembling line, the gas lamps burning in the ceiling casting a sickly sort of color across her face. Still, she kept the fear she must be feeling off her face, and her voice, when she spoke, was steady enough.

"Winter storms kept Daijal's airships grounded more often than not. With the weather clearing, I fear they'll try to wipe this city off the map and Caris with it," Meleri said softly, her words meant for Honovi alone. "You see now why we need E'ridia's air force?"

Honovi had nothing to say in the face of her plaintive statement, knowing that the promises he wanted to give her were meaningless when bombs would soon be falling on the city above while revenants clawed at Cosian's walls.