Emil

  Karni didn’t immediately interrogate him on Steiger’s secrets after Emil acquiesced to her demands. Instead, they were hauled back to their tent. Hisham and a couple of Shiraza doctors appeared shortly after to provide Kai and Liesel with proper first aid. Once their conditions had stabilized, the Shiraza guards left them a nourishing meal and plenty of water.

  The four of them ate in silence. The meeting with Karni and its implications lingered on everyone’s minds.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Anna eventually asked. Kai and Liesel dropped their utensils and stopped eating. Emil felt their eyes regarding him uneasily. While it hadn’t been outright stated, they were all aware that Emil was being compelled to sell state secrets in order to keep them alive.

  Emil tried to smile. “I don’t know. It depends on what Karni asks, I guess.” Perhaps he should have done a better job to placate their concerns, but an overly optimistic response felt inappropriate. His friends weren’t na?ve.

  In truth, Steiger had little intel Gharia to begin with. After its conquest, most of its surveillance and operation was placed in the hands of House Ulster while Steiger prioritized affairs in other areas of the kingdom. Troya, who had her agenda to pursue, hadn’t bothered to share her knowledge with Emil and Van before the start of this expedition.

  It didn’t take a genius to know that Karni was looking an information edge to improve Gharia’s chances of a successful rebellion. Emil just wasn’t sure if he had anything that made him worth keeping around. As a Cleaner, he was limited in the amount of sensitive information that he was privy to.

  Liesel suddenly lowered her head.

  “Thank you, Emil. It must have been hard to—”

  “Stop that,” he barked, waving her off. To his shock, she flinched at the minor annoyance in his tone.

  Why are you reacting like this? He lamented, fighting the urge to click his tongue.

  He hated the deferential gaze in her eyes. How she suddenly spoke to him with a formal air as if she was addressing someone of greater stature than herself. How she had her guard up around him and chose her words and actions deliberately in his presence as though stepping on eggshells.

  The confidence and poise that she displayed in the Clash of Dawn was no where to be found. As was the dignity of the Ice Maiden of Belle. The quiet determination and pride of the Prodigy. How she acted with a haughtiness and slight arrogance, befitting of the someone raised in the upper echelons of society, yet still remained compassionate.

  Where was that person?

  The young lady in front of him was suddenly just a scared girl. A stranger. The Prodigy had lost her specialness.

  Maybe he was being too harsh. Maybe his own lofty expectations had placed her on a pedestal. Maybe it was him who was abnormal. Their expedition in the Saar had been nothing but disaster. For those who weren’t raised to be a killing machine, being thrown into this savage environment must have been deeply traumatizing. Emil was a Steiger Cleaner. His sense of what was normal had long grown twisted.

  “Do you really think I was going to let you guys die?” he asked.

  The room was silent. Kai and Liesel said nothing, but the uncomfortable gaze in their eyes told him everything he needed to know. They were watching him like they didn’t know who he was. As though the past few months they spent amongst each other as classmates had vanished into oblivion. To them, Emil Milligan was dead. And a Steiger Cleaner wearing his face stood in his place.

  Only Anna seemed unperturbed. Instead, she smiled at him sadly as if she could read the turmoil in his heart.

  I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

  Really though, what was he expecting? Emil Milligan never existed. That version of him was always just a farce. A mask that he wore to infiltrate the Academy. A persona that he adopted to blend in as a student. A lie to hide his ugly, vicious nature.

  It was always something fleeting—something that would be exposed and undone with time. Something to be discarded.

  He just didn’t understand why it hurt so much.

  ***

  The next day was bustling with activity.

  Morning came with several contingents of Dhazara and Zal’Khari warriors arriving at the encampment.

  Their appearance caused quite a bit of stir. These were apparently reinforcements called in advance to assist with their tribe’s fight over the Azurite mines. The Dhazara were quickly placated by Nabil’s presence, but the Zal’Khari were eager for blood. Rather than willingly submit to the Shiraza, they were enraged by Rakan’s death at Karni’s hands and were itching for vengeance. It nearly devolved into a fight until Nasir appeared and kneeled before Karni in a gesture of a submission. Afterwards, the Zal’Khari’s fighting spirit waned and they reluctantly conceded to their new leader’s authority.

  Emil observed the entire event from a distance. The Shiraza had finally allowed him to leave the tent, although only if he was accompanied by two other Exalted. The security was frankly excessive. He had been stripped of his Azurite accessory and was now no stronger than a well-trained Ordinary. Plus, he had the well-being of his friends to consider. There was no need to guard him so intensely.

  Nasir appeared to notice him from afar. The two of them briefly made eye contact before Karni beckoned for him, designating the man as the Zal’Khari’s new representative. A fitting position given his strength and former status as Rakan’s right-hand man.

  Maybe my guards are to keep him away from me instead. Emil smirked self-deprecatingly at the thought. The hatred in his chest flared. He still hungered for Nasir’s death despite his current state. He knew it was irrational, but he couldn’t help except feel humiliated that he had to be protected by someone who he had nearly killed just a day ago. If Kai hadn’t caught the attention of the sandworm…

  It’s no use.

  What happened had happened. Thinking about what-ifs was unproductive. For now, he needed to prepare and bind his time until an opportunity arose for him and his friends to escape Karni’s grasp. Steady his mind. Steel his body. Observe his surroundings. Those were the only choices available to him.

  More people from all three tribes of the Saar arrived over the course of the day. Not all were warriors. Other functions included seamstresses, cooks, blacksmiths, and animal handlers who all poured into the growing encampment. Karni continued to receive pledges of allegiance. News of her victory over Rakan, her use of Borealis to slay the gigantic sandworm, and her feats as a member of Vigil quickly bestowed her the status of a legend. It took less than a day before the entire encampment began to utter her name with an air of reverence. They truly believed that she was the one who could lead Gharia to overthrow their Ardairan oppressors.

  “Plotting your eventual escape?”

  Emil turned. It was Nabil. The Dhazara leader let out a tired groan as he took a seat on the hot sands with food in his hands. It was a dish unique to the Gharians—a type of flatbread coated in yogurt and cream made from camel milk wrapped around a bundle of meat roasted from a firepit. The fragrance was nauseatingly mouthwatering.

  “Something like that,” Emil replied dryly, trying to ignore his own empty stomach. He hadn’t spoken to Nabil since he assigned him to investigate the Azurite mines. “I’m just observing how a living legend seems to be forming right before my eyes.”

  “You’re talking about Princess Kiniyani?”

  “Yeah. Over half of the Gharians in this encampment were her enemies just a few days ago, but now, they’ve started to speak her name as if she was a divine figure on the level of the Goddess. I’ve seen people take her hands and cry. Weeping, praying for her success. The eyes that behold her are brimmed with awe and hope. It’s terrifying. The change is too fast. It’s almost like a cult is forming right in front of me.”

  Nabil let out a hearty laugh. “You’re an interesting one, young man. I’ve never encountered a warrior as bloodthirsty as you with the contemplativeness of a scholar.”

  Emil took the comment in stride.

  “But it’s true. You’re not wrong,” Nabil said as he rose to his feet, “Princess Kiniyani has the charisma of a leader, but she’s not so magnetic as to warrant this reaction. But we Gharians are desperate. We yearn for change. We desire freedom. When Ardair annexed the Saar, they not only stole our ancestral lands to mine Azurite, but they also crippled our people and forced us to assimilate to their society without assistance. Our people were mostly nomadic and now, suddenly we’re forced to live in big cities and settlements where none of the knowledge passed down from our ancestors are applicable.

  “As a result, the average Gharians live a far poorer life than the average Ardairan. Most of our young men work as laborers in the mines owned by the royal family while the young women sell their bodies. It’s humiliating. Our people were never meant to live like this. And yet, Ardair seems content to simply let it be. After all, it works to their advantage. The conquest of the Saar not only gave them access to our Azurite, but also an entire race to enslave for their gain.”

  Nabil regarded Emil with a blank look.

  “I led the Dhazara with the vision of convincing Ardair to invest more into the Gharians. I wanted to prove that we have more to offer than as simple menial laborers. But perhaps that was na?ve of me. Maybe Ardairans will never see us as anything but a lesser race. But at the same time, I couldn’t see another path forward. The scars of the Saar’s annexation ran deep. The horrors their Exalted inflicted upon us could never be forgotten. How could we possibly hope to contend against such a power?”

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  The Dhazara leader suddenly narrowed his eyes.

  “But yesterday, Princess Kiniyani showed me a different vision. One where the Gharians didn’t have to submit and beg for a seat at the table. Instead, we take it. By force. With our own hands. Isn’t that vision so much more appealing?”

  Emil couldn’t find the words to respond. To him, Karni was a terrorist who caused immeasurable amount of damage and death to Ardair. But to the Gharians, she was the symbol of their race’s pride and their hope for a better tomorrow. The incongruity was tough to swallow.

  At the end of the day, it all comes down to perspective.

  He was Ardairan, and so he found her actions reprehensible. But Emil was not so na?ve as to forget that it was Ardair who dealt the first blow. Karni, as the revolutionary Princess Kiniyani, was a product of the royal family’s greed. This situation was entirely manufactured by their hands. Karni’s terrorist attacks and her ensuing rebellion was just the next step in a growing chain of vengeance.

  “If I may ask a question,” Nabil suddenly said to break the silence. His voice sounded hesitant, lacking the quiet conviction from earlier. “Do you know what happened to Inaya?”

  Right. He never found out.

  The cavern leading to the subterranean chamber where their battle took place had collapsed due to the sandworm’s rampage. Emil was only able to pry him and Kai out by digging their way up using Bulwark.

  “We fought against the contingent of Zal’Khari inside the Azurite mines. Inaya died in the battle.”

  “But only you and Kai survived?” Nabil’s tone was sharp. A hint of accusation.

  Emil shrugged. “I’m going to prioritize my friend. That was all to it.” And then, an idea suddenly came to mind. He was originally going to keep this detail a secret, but he saw an opportunity to plant a seed. “Nasir was there. When I went to confront him, all of the Dhazara had already been slain.”

  “I see,” Nabil muttered emotionlessly, “I was planning to take her as my wife someday. How unfortunate that will never come to pass.”

  “My condolences.”

  The Dhazara leader waved him off. He suddenly looked very tired. As he walked away, he said, “There’s going to be a feast this evening to celebrate Princess Kiniyani’s rise. And a dance. Try to relax a little. Have a bit of fun. Who knows? It might just be your last chance to do so.”

  ***

  True to his word, the unified Gharian camp turned into a place of festivities. Once night fell, everyone gathered around an enormous firepit. The flame seemed to climb to the skies, its bellowing heat more than adequate to salve off the frigid nights of the desert. In the background, the stars gleamed, mischievously illuminating the dark skies.

  Food was served to everyone. Music accompanied the backdrop of somber conversations. Gharian instruments were simple, mostly composed of drums, flutes, and song. The melody being played was surprisingly wistful. Dancers paired and swayed slowly to the rhythmic sounds.

  Emil watched them, not thinking about anything particular, when a familiar face appeared in his sight.

  “You look quite lonely,” Anna said with a soft smile.

  “Do I?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “The lone wolf aesthetic surprisingly suits you. But I guess that’s to be expected from someone who used to operate in the shadows.”

  “I’m keeping my distance for a reason, you know?” he replied, slightly resentful. Kai and Liesel were clearly still rattled by his presence. He couldn’t bear to see his friends act so tense around him.

  “Sure, but I think that might have the opposite effect of what you want. You don’t change someone’s perception of you by avoiding them after all.”

  Says the one who ran away from her parents. He was wise to keep the nasty remark to himself, not wanting to drive away the only friend who wasn’t daunted by his revelations.

  “How come you’re not disturbed by who I am?” he eventually asked. The question had been lingering on his mind for awhile now.

  Anna playfully tapped her feet in the sand as she walked in circles around him. “It’s because I’m amazing.” Emil rolled his eyes, earning him a smug giggle. “But you already knew that. The truth is, I’ve simply known that you were special for awhile now. A person with two Gifts doesn’t just simply stroll into the Academy and pretend that he’s a normal Exalted. From that standpoint, your true affiliation doesn’t surprise me too much.”

  I figured that was the case.

  “But if you look at it differently, then that means you just need to give those two some time,” she said with compassion, “I’ve had a much longer period to process and accept who you are and who you might be.”

  Emil smiled sadly. “Kai might get over it eventually. But I think Liesel will always have her guard around me. She’s a noble. And I’m Steiger.”

  Anna shrugged. “Maybe. But who cares about that dreary woman?” She smirked before tilting her head towards the dancers near the firepit. “Kai taught us the traditional Gharian dance a bit earlier. I wouldn’t mind teaching it to someone if they asked.”

  “You could have just asked me directly, you know?” Emil said, exasperated.

  “No. A gentleman must play his role properly.”

  I suppose this might make up for the dance we never got to have at the Clash of Dawn banquet.

  He was about to offer his hand and request a dance when he felt a stab of bloodlust aimed at the back of his throat. Emil shuddered, spinning around to face the source.

  Karni strode towards him—elegant and poised. A conniving smile on her lips.

  “Good evening, Anna Seibert. I’m going to need to borrow Emil for a moment.”

  ***

  Karni led him by the hand towards the center of the firepit. Emil tried to resist, but her grip was unyielding. A focused glance revealed that she was enhancing her strength with a thin veil of mana.

  She would not allow him to leave.

  The humiliation of having his agency stolen away burned in his chest, but there was nothing he could do. Not against an Exalted when he was without access to Azurite. Gritting his teeth, he let Karni do as she pleased. The dancers in the vicinity parted to make way. Eyes fell on him, a mixture of sadistic curiosity and malice. The wistful music continued to play in the background, but the conversations that accompanied it became muted. The ravenous flames in the firepit seemed to bloom with dark intent.

  What is she planning?

  She pulled him close before turning around. Her head was just below his neck. Their eyes met. Her ebon pupils seemed darker than the abyss itself. Hollow. Cold. It was unsettling, but he couldn’t look away. Her piercing gaze seemed to have placed him under a spell. As he was forced to stare deeper, he found a familiar emotion lurking in its depths.

  Rage.

  An unfathomable amount of it.

  So much so that it had warped her very identity.

  “Care to dance with me?” she asked as though it was most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing normal about dancing with a political hostage who was also a Steiger Cleaner.

  This is symbolic. She wants to show everyone that she’s capable of dominating the Ardairans.

  “I’m afraid I don’t know any Gharian dances,” he replied, sounding innocuous as possible. In the corner of his eyes, he caught Anna flanked by a pair of Shiraza Exalted.

  “But you have danced in Ardairan courts, have you not?” Karni stated with a sullen smile, “Just use that. I’ll lead the way.” She pulled his hands, making his fingers wrap around her waist. The black robe she wore was surprisingly thin. He could feel the texture of her skin through the fabrics. Her body was unexpectedly supple.

  The music rose. Karni slowly began to sway her hips. Her melodic movement was hypnotic. The entire time she held eye contact, refusing to let him look away. She stepped forward and leaned in, compelling Emil to step back. She lightly tugged on his shoulder, suggesting that he should turn. Emil felt like he was being strung along like a marionette. Without a will of his own, he moved in rhythm. Through this twisted act, they somehow managed some semblance of a dance.

  “How much does your owner know about Gharia and the Saar?” she suddenly asked.

  He winced at her comment. Calling Steiger his owner wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

  “…Not much. The Saar wasn’t a priority.”

  “Then was House Ulster working alone?”

  “Yes. As far as I know.”

  Karni’s lips curled into a knowing grin. What does that mean? Emil had a bad feeling about her reaction.

  “What was Steiger’s priority then?”

  “Keeping the Ardairan nobles in check,” he decided to add a little bit of extra details to give credibility to his words. “And investigating the Council of Mana.”

  She nodded. “That explains your involvement at the Academy. Let me guess. Part of your mission was to find out about the Bestowed Project.” Emil said nothing. His face was impassive, but inside, he was alarmed. As if reading his thoughts, Karni continued, “Kleine already deduced all of this awhile ago. After all, he was the one who initially leaked your owners with knowledge of the Bestowed Project. In a way, he’s the reason you’re standing in front of me today.”

  …What?

  Before he had a chance to process the implications of this, Karni suddenly leaned in and whispered a location in his ears.

  “If, by some chance you survive the Saar and escape my grasp, go there. I’ve hidden the materials stolen from the Consortium on the Bestowed Project.”

  “Why? What the hell are you planning?”

  “Just a contingency. If my rebellion fails, then I want your owner to have what she’s been looking for—an excuse to take down the Council of Mana.”

  Emil was flabbergasted. “I don’t get it. How’s any of this related?”

  Karni smiled. She suddenly pulled him close, stepping past his legs before forcing them to switch positions. As she did so, she twirled, spinning effortlessly on the heels of her foot into her new spot. “Haven’t you been paying attention? Vigil wants to tear down Ardair. There are multiple paths to that reality. Whether it’s my rebellion or Kleine’s own machinations.”

  They danced in silence for a period. It took everything for Emil to keep up. The revelations that Karni offered was too overwhelming. Kleine leaked the Bestowed Project to Steiger? Why? To force Hortensia to investigate the Council?

  Had they been manipulated by Vigil this entire time?

  “Hey Emil,” Karni suddenly spoke up with a forlorn look. Emil thought he caught a fracture in her domineering mask. A glimpse of her humanity untainted by rage.

  “Do you think I’m a monster?”

  “…Yes.” He decided to respond honestly.

  “Fair. My hands are stained in blood. My legacy will forever be tainted as the creator of Borealis,” she said with a pensive tone, “But if you could view things from my perspective, I think you’ll realize that it’s only logical that I became this way. Growing up, I was just a normal girl with a strong curiosity in the world. I thought I was going to become a seamstress when I became of age. Maybe an animal handler if my parents permitted it. Maybe a wanderer if my curiosity became too insatiable. I’d always wanted to learn more about this beloved Saar and what lied beyond it.”

  Her voice quivered. This fleeting moment of vulnerability then shattered.

  “I was still a child when the Ardairans arrived. But I remembered everything like it was yesterday. The toxic miasma of Blighted Artist crawling through the sands, killing everything in its wake. Deathstrider’s undead army, composed of our fallen brethren. And then there were the explosions. Flames and deafening explosions were everywhere, making it impossible to coordinate a retaliation or retreat. I couldn’t even hear my parents scream when I saw them burn right in front of me. But I was there to watch as their mangled corpses were forced to rise up again to fight. I wonder, Emil, if you could imagine such a sight?”

  “…I can.”

  Karni smiled sadly. “Of course, you can. My circumstances aren’t so unique. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? How can the horrors that turned an innocent, curious girl into a revolutionary be so commonplace? Something is wrong. If there’s anything to blame, it’s this kingdom and its twisted nature. Perhaps it used to be a fine place to live. But now, it’s nothing except a rotting, breeding ground for monsters like me.”

  The music smoothly faded into silence. Karni gently led them to a stop. The area was quiet. No conversations. No whispers. Just the whine of the wind and crackling flickers of the blazing firepit.

  “Kneel,” Karni ordered just loud enough for him to hear, “And then kiss the back of my hand.”

  It was the same gesture that other Gharians had been doing to pledge their loyalty to their new warlord. Sensing his reluctance, she whispered, “This humiliation will only last an instant.”

  Emil slowly lowered himself, discarding the last vestige of pride and shame that held him back. He just had to endure it. An unbruised ego couldn’t replace the three lives that he swore to protect.

  As he brought his lips to Karni’s hands—

  “Thank you for sharing with me the secrets of the Ardairans, agent of Steiger.”

  …What?

  She declared it so casually, so formally, so loudly. Against the silent festivities, Karni’s words were thunderous. Suddenly, he saw it. Along her fingertips, thin threads of mana gleamed with intent.

  Squelch!

  “Aghhhh!”

  “Ngh!”

  Screams sporadically erupted amongst the crowd. Bodies dropped into a pool of their own viscid blood. Karni’s monstrous rats suddenly appeared out of the sands, towering over their victims. Panic was starting to spread, but the Shiraza warriors took control of the situation. It helped that their own people were amongst some of the victims.

  “Did you know, Emil?” Karni said softly, “The word Steiger has no meaning to Gharians. It is as you say, their lack of presence in the Saar ensured that their name does not exist in the collective conscious of native Gharians. But how is it that there were still those in the audience who reacted so strongly to my declaration?”

  Karni raised a hand in the air. Her ebon eyes steeled with rage.

  “There are spies in our ranks! Secure those who were taken down!”

  The Gharian festivities had came to a bloody end.