“You’ll doom us all!” Lady Ironveil practically screamed into Balthazar’s face.

  We stood just beyond the gates of the Tower in Boston.

  I’d known the tension was coming, but even given that, I was surprised by her lack of composure. It had been two days since our victory and only hours since the new priests sent from Chicago had coordinated with the priests in Buffalo to reverse the slaving. Boston now controlled both Towers.

  Street sweepers paused their work to look up at the outburst. Passersby paused, waiting to absorb the drama. The square was a mess, littered with bottles, papers, and the refuse of the wild party that had erupted following the victory over Buffalo. For two days and two nights the people had reveled. I had reveled myself, the dissolution of the dread and tension of the last months giving way to an unfettered joy.

  But now this.

  Balthazar, flanked by his knight bodyguards, regarded Lady Ironveil with a hint of intentional distaste. “My Lady, this is neither the place nor the time for such a discussion.”

  Lady Ironveil stepped closer, her own escort bristling with aggression. “The time and the place would have been in the Lord’s chamber! You’ve slaved the Buffalo Tower! Without sanction from the assembly! That would have been the time and the place, Lord Supreme, but you bypassed—”

  Balthazar shook his head, speaking over her, “The revised constitution allows—”

  Ironveil’s voice reached a new pitch, layering over his, “Those are wartime powers! They were no longer applicable once Buffalo was defeated. The choice to slave the Tower should have gone before the council. My sources indicate that the other cities are already mobilizing.”

  Balthazar said, “They’re only mobilizing so that your spies will see them mobilizing. If there truly is issue with our course of action, then there will be dialogue before any danger of military action.”

  Lady Ironveil’s eyes boggled in their sockets. “Listen to yourself! It doesn’t matter if that’s the case! As long as military action is the inevitable end to this madness—and you can be assured that it is—then the whole affair is an act of self-destruction. The other cities won’t stand for a nascent empire forming. We gave a guarantee that we wouldn’t slave the Tower!”

  Balthazar said, “We guaranteed that we wouldn’t force a slaving. And that we did not do. There was no forcing, no pressure. The people of Buffalo assembled and elected to join wills with our city.”

  Ironveil threw her hands in the air. “Do you think Morningstar will care about the distinction? Or Kestrel? Or any of the others? We must undo it, lest we see five armies, or ten armies, at our gates. The threat of the green men will be nothing by comparison. You’re dooming us, you fool!”

  Balthazar said, “We’ll see. That’s the purpose of the assembly today. I may have acted swiftly, as the constitution allows. Today the lords can vote to ratify my action.”

  She sneered, peering at him with open contempt. “And you expect that to pass? Because you have a collection of pissant nobles with lands hardly bigger than my gardens?”

  “Now, Lady Ironveil, I know you don’t mean to diminish your fellow nobles. Every qualifying house has a vote, no matter their size.”

  Ironveil vibrated with rage. “And I see you never attempted to rectify that imbalance during your campaign to rewrite the constitution! It suits you just fine that some hopped-up backwater hick with a wooden castle has a vote that counts the same as mine as long as he’s voting for you! This won’t stand, Balthazar. You hear me? You can’t hijack the entire machinery of Boston and make it your personal toy. We simply can’t stand back and let you doom us. How can you possibly imagine that this will end in anything but utter disaster!”

  I turned my head to see another retinue, Lord Darkwater flanked by a half dozen Darkwater knights, approaching. The newly arrived noble spread his arms wide and smiled broadly. “Morticia! Calm yourself. We have a process, this will be resolved by the laws of this land. I have every confidence, and so should you. If anything, this is a boon. Such an error will surely see Lord Balthazar finally ousted and a more capable and worthy successor take his place.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Her eyes snapped to Darkwater. She glowered at him but stilled her tongue.

  I watched the whole spectacle with some detachment. There had been a time when I’d been awed by persons of such power and status. Then there had been a time when I’d felt the need to assert myself before them. Now I felt born anew and could simply observe them and consider them. They wanted to block my path, I could see that. How they intended to was beyond me. I had indeed done the maths—Balthazar held a tidy majority of support after the victory in Buffalo. Yes, there was great peril in slaving another Tower and provoking our neighbors, but for the leaders of lesser houses the opportunity for growth outweighed the concerns over sanctions.

  My HEARING detected the clatter of galloping hooves on cobblestone and I glanced back. It was neither safe nor courteous to drive a horse at anything more than walking pace within the walls of the city. That sound, of hooves rapidly hammering against stone, was always a source of alarm. I saw Austin whipping his horse towards us. I couldn’t guess what drove him, but the urgency was clear.

  Glancing back to the conversation, I heard Darkwater speaking to Balthazar, his voice as arrogant as his son’s. “Why the delay, Lord Supreme? A matter as urgent as this can hardly wait until after noon.”

  Balthazar said, “All of our Griidlords aim to be in attendance. Lord Bloodsword and Lady Vaelstrom are the only Griidlords within the city walls this morning. The other three will arrive this afternoon—they’ve been absent leading trains and seeing to matters in Buffalo.”

  Darkwater nodded, his eyes knowing. “Yes, trains. To the site east of Buffalo? I noted how quickly you arranged to dispatch troops to the ruins there.”

  If Balthazar was surprised by Darkwater’s knowledge of his actions, then he gave no sign of it. “A matter of the security of our city.”

  Darkwater arched a brow. “Some old pre-Fall ruins in the Wilds are a matter of our security? Most curious. I know the Shield is in Buffalo, your pet Axe is leading this train you speak of. What of our new Arrow, Lady Moonclaw? Handed the armor in the wake of the last Arrow’s demise without choosing or chamber consultation.”

  Balthazar smiled thinly. “That was another wartime action. We had a skilled and experienced Arrow at our disposal at a time when we needed a full retinue. Again, if you need to challenge the appointment, then it can be ratified. I have full confidence.”

  Darkwater smirked. The expression made his face ugly. “I’m sure you do…”

  I stepped away from them to meet Austin. He’d nearly reached us, his horse’s shoed hooves sparking on the cobbled road as it started to decelerate.

  I felt the skin on the back of my neck prickle. Balthazar had the numbers he needed to ratify all of his actions. I knew he did. I’d counted myself. Katya had confirmed my estimations. Where then did Darkwater get his confidence? I’d not forgotten what Leona had said. The overwhelming majority of the military forces of Boston were provided by a small minority of the houses. Those same houses were the ones that already possessed most of the power and wealth in the city. They were the ones with the least desperation to gamble on slaving Buffalo and taking advantage of the growth. It was the smaller houses, those barely better than commoners, that wanted to see their holdings expand in the wake of the war.

  The very thought of it sent my eyes glancing to the rooftops lining the streets. A mortal would have missed it, but my SIGHT showed me the flicker of movement I expected to see. The Bloodwulfs were in the city—my own personal army, equipped at the cost of much of my liquid wealth. I was prepared for insurrection and betrayal. Yet, despite Darkwater’s inexplicable confidence, I remained confused. I knew he, nor any of the other conspirator lords, had moved troops to the city. In the wake of the war they were all deployed to the field or taking long-earned leave. Where then did he get such confidence?

  I turned my attention to Austin. He waited until he was close to me, not wanting to be overheard. His horse was frothing at the mouth, its sides heaving dangerously from long galloping. My alarm grew. Austin possessed a personal footfield—what could have driven him to me that provoked him to drive his horse so hard?

  He gasped as I stepped closer, taking his horse’s reins. “My… Lord…”

  He was out of breath himself.

  I nodded, trying to retain what calm I could. “What is it, Austin?”

  “Castle Bloodsword… The castle burns… a monster…”

  That was enough to send my eyebrows skyward and my eyes wide as plates. I could do nothing to suppress my shock. “What?”

  He leaned forward. “I came to you. There was nothing I could do. The site is in flames. There was something there, slayed the workers. I would have fought but I’d have died. Wouldn’t have been able to inform you. I’m sorry if I failed.”

  “No. You did the right thing,” I said, already moving past him towards the gates.

  The castle was on the boundary of Boston territory. I could move faster than ever with my heightened level and refining cape. But Harold was there. I dreaded wasting my use of DOOR for the day, but my love for the old man eclipsed the reservation.

  I drew the white lines in the air and stepped through.

  I truly had no thoughts for the castle. I could only think of Harold.