Taming the Wind

by S. L. Kassidy

  “Thank you,” Ashni said before eating a spoonful of baked apples with cinnamon.

  “For what?” Nakia didn’t think she did anything that required thanks. “I want to take care of you like you do with me. I want you to let me take care of you.”

  Ashni nodded, her hair tickling Nakia’s cheek. “It’ll take some getting used to. Bear with me. I don’t want to treat you like a servant.”

  “No, but there’ll be times I want to serve you, as you do with me. Please, let me,” Nakia replied.

  “I’ll do my best, especially if you show up with these apples. I usually eat them with honey. What made you get cinnamon?”

  Nakia shrugged. “I thought you’d like it. Make sure you eat the stew, too, though. You need the energy.”

  Ashni pouted but ate the stew after she finished what was supposed to be the dessert. She shared some of the food and Nakia accepted the offer. She had spent much of the day worrying over Ashni, so she hadn’t remembered to eat and probably wouldn’t have been able to hold anything down if she did.

  “How did the battle go?” Nakia asked. Maybe if she knew more about battles, it would save her some concern in the future.

  Ashni reached for bread from a nearby tray. “Better than expected.”

  “But you said you didn’t win.” Nakia squinted and shook her head. “Isn’t the point of having a battle to win?” Isn’t winning the point of everything?

  “Not always. I’m sure they would’ve liked to win, hoping to keep Princess from taking her people into the city and causing havoc, but we weren’t looking for that. We wanted to see what we were dealing with in real time and also give them something to think about. We got to see that Ferox is as impulsive as you described him. We got to see that even with their Black Dogs, we can keep up with the enemy as long as we have a good plan. We got to see much of the army isn’t as disciplined, which we suspect is the Tyrans, but also your father’s troops.”

  Nakia tensed. “Was my father there?”

  “I believe he was, but I didn’t see him myself. There were definitely men flying his banner. The only ones to stay put were the Valen troops. They’ll be the ones we worry about. They understood they had the advantage and didn’t move. They’re well trained, professional. We might be able to challenge them to a champion match. It’s been a year since we were here before, so that might work.”

  Nakia nodded, not sure if she was supposed to give input there. She didn’t know how warfare worked but Ashni didn’t seem to be waiting for a response. She reached for a bit of melon from the food tray and offered Nakia a morsel. Nakia accepted, eating right from Ashni’s hand without a second thought.

  “So, what are you going to do?” Nakia asked.

  “For the moment, finish this meal, hold you close, and get some sleep. We’ll figure things out in the morning. Adira’s waiting for word from some spies and Layla’s going to cause a little more trouble at nightfall. We can’t do much else.”

  Nakia took Ashni’s word for it. With the meal done, Ashni went to lie down, taking Nakia with her. Nakia cuddled in close while being mindful of Ashni’s injury. Ashni gave her several soft kisses on her lips.

  “I worried about you while you were out,” Nakia said.

  Ashni’s face lit up a little. “I know how you feel. I was worried the whole time you were gone.”

  “Will it get easier?”

  Ashni’s expression fell. “No, it doesn’t. I was always confident my father would return, but that was when I was a child. As I got older, I’d remind myself my father’s the son of a god and even then I worried, at least a little at the back of my mind. My mother tried to hide her concern, but there were times she never slept. She’d say it’s hard to sleep without him snoring next to her.”

  Nakia frowned. Ashni would be in dangerous situations for her conquest, however long that would be. She’d accept that, as that was Ashni’s dream long before Nakia got into the picture. But then, where do I fit into Ashni’s life?

  “Ashni.” Nakia licked her lips, still getting used to the queen’s name on her tongue.

  “Yes?”

  “You plan to marry me, yes?”

  “Damn right I do.” Ashni nodded. “Oh…”

  Nakia arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “I need to get you a promise bracelet. My promise to you, to honor you.” Ashni got up, moving about the tent.

  Nakia sat up. “What are you doing?”

  “You need a bracelet.”

  “Not right this moment. You need to rest. You’re injured and exhausted.”

  Ashni went on like she hadn’t heard a word Nakia said, going to a chest she had in the corner of the tent. She knelt by it, digging for something. “I have plenty of bracelets. I don’t know if any of them fit you, though. I’ll have to get you one made.”

  “Ashni.” Nakia got up and fell to Ashni’s side. “Come back to bed. You don’t need to do this right now.”

  Ashni looked her in the eyes and it felt like those amber pools could see down into her soul. “I need you to know regardless of what happens, I’ll always try to come back to you and I want only for your happiness.”

  “I know.”

  “And I will damn sure marry you.”

  Nakia nodded, feeling the certainty in her bones. She led Ashni back to bed, and they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  ***

  Ashni awoke and stroked Nakia’s hair. Her eyes fell to her bandaged arm. It wasn’t the first time she was wounded and it wouldn’t be the last. But, the wound burned and she knew it wasn’t from the possibility the arrow tip had been poisoned. It was from the concern and terror she had witnessed in Nakia’s eyes. She never wanted to see that look in Nakia’s beautiful green eyes ever again. But at the same time, she couldn’t stop her dream, either.

  If you don’t stop, how will you be able to enjoy your hellcat? She frowned. Well, she might not be able to enjoy her time with Nakia right away, but her parents managed. Her father was a conqueror until the day he died. Their marriage was long and happy. Why can’t mine be the same? Isn’t this something to worry about later? Like when you’re not in the middle of a conquest?

  There was a list of other things to do, but Ashni couldn’t bring herself to care about them just yet. For the moment, she held Nakia a little tighter, reminding herself she was there. Nakia was there and wanted to marry her, despite coming from a culture that thought such a thing was laughable. Nakia wanted to stay with her, even as she conquered Nakia’s homeland. Surely she was allowed a minute to enjoy that. When she finally got up, she’d make the appropriate sacrifices to the gods and beg for forgiveness for daring to question their wisdom.

  Chapter Twelve

  ASHNI SAT WITH ADIRA and Layla in her tent, Nakia at her side. According to Adira’s spies, Timon, King of Valen, had no plans to release his army again. It was a smart move. He had the advantage unless she wanted to do an outright siege and sit there for months, which didn’t appeal to her, ever. She rubbed her palms together in thought.

  “They’ve got sacred lanterns to cut off shadow magic. It probably took a while to set up, but they’re all over the place now,” Layla reported with a scowl. She sat with her legs folded and pulled on her knees in frustration.

  “Your poor ego,” Ashni replied. Even though she teased, this was bad news. She couldn’t send Layla or any other Shadow Walkers in through their shadows.

  “More like my poor fingertips. They damn near got seared off in the light of the lantern. I didn’t even know that much sacred oil could be used.” Layla flexed her fingers on her right hand, which was bandaged. She probably had blisters from the blessed light.

  Ashni frowned. “No one was seriously injured, right?”

  “No. Mostly bruised egos, like you said.” Layla’s frown deepened.

  Adira rubbed her chin. “You ready to dig in or do you want to negotiate with Timon?”

  “Do you think he’s willing to talk? Right now, he’s got the better positio
n,” Ashni answered.

  Adira shook her head. “He’s got the advantage now. We could shock everyone, especially our troops, by actually digging in and waiting it out.”

  Ashni grimaced. “What in my entire existence says to you I’m willing to sit and wait?”

  “Nothing, which is why I said we could shock everyone. If you want to see if he’ll deal, you can send in the princess. Layla, not Nakia obviously,” Adira said.

  It was worth a shot. Anything to avoid a month’s long, drawn out siege. “Princess, you got this?”

  Layla sighed, shoulders dropping as if she now carried some great burden. “Why do I have to be the messenger? We have messengers.”

  “And we have you. Teach someone to go in the same way you do and you won’t have to do this anymore,” Ashni said.

  “Also, that person would have to be of your status, so they’ll be taken as seriously as you,” Adira said.

  Ashni nodded. “True. It probably wouldn’t hurt if they were my sister, too.”

  Layla sucked her teeth. “I hate you both.”

  “Now, we just have to figure out what to offer and ask for from Timon. According to my reports, he’s not a man to be taken lightly in any manner. He knows he’s got us. He’s not fielding his army again. He wasn’t happy with the battle the other day either,” Adira said.

  “What went wrong?” Nakia asked, eyes on the documents spread out between them.

  “According to the spies, Ferox broke rank, ignoring their battle plan and orders from Wicus to stand their ground. Wicus recognized they had the advantage and our feigned retreat. Ferox is the one who chased after us and then Dorian’s troops followed. Valen is ruled by good military minds, who have trained their soldiers well. The fact that they keep a standing army shows they’re more prepared than their neighbors for battle. So, how do we want to negotiate this?” Adira asked.

  Ashni pressed her palms together. “We could let them know we won’t raze their city to the ground if they agree to pay tribute. Eventually, we’ll just absorb them into our empire.” It wasn’t nearly as glorious as conquering the city, but it worked.

  “They might not go for that. We don’t know how much supplies they have to dig in. We don’t want to be sitting around here for months, do we?” Layla said.

  “Well, we don’t.” Ashni glanced at Adira, who was all too willing to do the patient thing, which was probably the right thing. Unless they could plan out a proper battle, they wouldn’t fight the Valen forces any time soon.

  “Fine. We’ll send Layla in with a message about paying us tribute and we’ll worry about this problem later.” Adira’s face pinched like she had something sour.

  Ashni arched an eyebrow. “When you put it that way, it sounds like the wrong thing to do.”

  “Because it is. We can’t just leave a city and say we’ll come back for it later. What happens if the next city is as well managed as this one? This isn’t the easy conquest you thought it was and now you’re trying to take an easy way out.” Adira threw up her hands.

  “I never thought this would be easy!” Fury flared inside of her, and Ashni glared at her general. She’d never treat this journey with anything less than the seriousness and respect it deserved. “Do you honestly think I’m not prepared?” Ashni’s fingers twitched as her talent burned down her nerves. She wasn’t angry enough for lightning, but it sounded like Adira wanted to fight.

  “I never said you weren’t prepared. You’re not patient, though. Not everything’s smash-and-grab. Let’s sit down and discuss tactics,” Adira replied, her voice calm, and she pointed to the floor.

  Adira was right, even though Ashni loathed admitting it. She was restless now, and it felt like she might come out of her skin if she didn’t keep moving. When did I start feeling this way? That wasn’t the way things were. Nakia grabbed her hand and held it with both of hers, shaking her from her thoughts. Her restlessness settled as she eyed her hand in Nakia’s, olive tone engulfed her darker hand. It calmed her down enough to see the wisdom in her general.

  “You should think of options, in case they don’t take the message well,” Nakia said. “Or even if they do take the message well. Remember, my father made it seem like he took the deal.”

  Sighing, Ashni nodded. Yes, she did have to practice some patience, so she put her other hand over Nakia’s and brushed Nakia’s knuckles with her thumb, her mind calming with the simple gesture. “We have the means for a siege.”

  “We do, as always,” Adira replied.

  “We’ll send Princess in with our message, but also set up for the siege. We have more forces than they do, even with this battle. We have brilliant technology, probably things they’ve never seen. We have good supply lines. We can dig in. If we have to wait, we can at least send some people to find out if we have more enemies like this ahead of the conquest,” Ashni said.

  Adira puffed out her chest. “Look at you, making long term plans. I’m so proud of you.”

  Ashni snorted. “Shut up.” She could make plans, but she wanted things immediately, especially before something went wrong. But, she was lax before and things crumbled. She needed to be cautious right now, and yet it would seem Timon beat her to the punch. A royal messenger showed up with a note. From the seal, it was from Dorian, not Timon.

  “What do you think he wants?” Layla’s lip curled, eyeing the seal.

  “One way to find out.” Ashni broke the seal and opened the scroll. She tilted it to Nakia, wanting Nakia to get the idea whatever was hers was also Nakia’s, including correspondences from enemies. No one objected. Layla didn’t even look at her funny.

  Nakia scoffed. “My father must be desperate if he thinks we’re going to fall for this.”

  Adira arched an eyebrow. “What does it say?”

  “Dorian was wounded in the battle and the wound can’t be healed and has festered. He’s not long for this world,” Ashni said. It was probably a lie, but the way her stomach rolled, she worried. What if I’ve killed my kitten’s father?

  Layla rolled her eyes. “Can’t say I’m sad.”

  Ashni shoved her sister. “Show some respect!”

  “Respect for who? The guy who married off your spouse to a monster who stole from my people?” Layla countered.

  Nakia stared at Ashni. “You’re not actually buying this, are you?”

  “There’s a possibility your father was critically injured. I got shot with an arrow. Why not him?” Ashni asked.

  “You know who didn’t get shot with arrows, people with good sense.” Layla pointed to herself and Adira. “We’re not listening to a known liar.”

  “Exactly,” Nakia said.

  Ashni looked at Nakia. “Hellcat, you don’t mean that. This is your father.” You only get one father.

  “My father has lied to us before. All of us.” Nakia made a circle with her index finger.

  Ashni shook her head. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You don’t know that. Your father’s dying.”

  “According to a letter from my father, who we just determined is a liar.” Nakia turned to fully face Ashni and cupped her face with smooth hands. “You can’t be seriously considering this to be the truth.”

  Ashni put her hands on Nakia’s wrists. “You never know when it’ll be the last time you see your father.” But, you never forget the last time you saw him. Her throat stung as she remembered her father’s bright smile as he told her he was sneaking out of a boring meeting and she better not tell her mother.

  Nakia leaned back. “You think I want to see him? He’s an ass.”

  “You say that now, but things might change if he dies.” Ashni’s heart grew heavy in her chest as she thought about all the fights she got into with her father, screaming about how he didn’t take her seriously, barking at him for leaving her behind because he didn’t want to get shown up by her, and tearing into him for not taking her sooner as she learned to command her lightning. Yes, she and her father got along most of the time, but she still
wished she could take back the moments they didn’t and just revel in their time together.

  Nakia’s brow furrowed. “Ashni, my father made me believe I was useless because I was born female and then used me, time and time again so he could sway a situation to his advantage, like he’s probably trying to do with you now.”

  Ashni moved her hand from Nakia’s wrist to her neck, stroking up and down. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Layla and Adira making their escape. She couldn’t understand why at first, but then she stared at Nakia. This was a private matter, something to do with their relationship, not with their military.

  “He could be dying,” Ashni said.

  “Why do you think I should care?” Nakia stared at her and then her jade eyes widened. “You think my father is like your father? You’re so wrong.”

  “You only get one father.” She had the best of the best and it hurt to not have him around. She didn’t want Nakia to have that along with the regret of not seeing him one last time.

  “Good!” Nakia stood up. “I don’t need another father using me or my sisters like currency. I was sold to a demon for an alliance that didn’t even come through. We knew Ferox was a pig of a man and my father gave my sister to him anyway in exchange for fucking chariots!”

  Ashni blinked at the swear word. Okay, she’s worked up. I have to make sure I don’t screw this up. She stood and held her hands up in surrender. “I get it. I’m only saying your father could be dying and you might not get any more time with him.”

  Nakia’s eyes hardened. “You don’t seem to understand that I don’t care.”