“That’s why...” Admina trailed off, her eyes on the knives Evony still wore.
She nodded. “I don’t feel right without them. What is your home like?”
“Oh, we’re quite high up. We have mountains all along our eastern border, but that has worked to our advantage since they’re rich in iron. We do great metalwork and make everything from swords to plows. We’ve long exported the ore and our metalworks to others, though because of the distance, we don’t do nearly as much trade as we could. If we could expand our trade routes, our people would truly prosper.”
Evony smiled, glad to see her friend relaxing. It was clear that at the very least, Admina loved her homeland. And that was something Evony could understand since she loved and missed Silvinsula. She really couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
They turned as they came close to another building. This one was also made of stone and wood, but from the sheer number of soldiers coming and going from it, Evony could tell it was the barracks. She eyed a few they passed, but didn’t do more than that. She could feel the stares they were getting from the upper floor windows but chose to ignore them. She imagined this was the first time any of them had seen an Amazzi. The Amazzi hadn’t been called into battle by the current emperor or his predecessor, so they had not left the island in force in decades.
Ahead of them lay several fields, some delineated with low wooden fences, some left open. Even from a distance, Evony could see the neat formations the identically dressed men marched in right in the centre of the field that lay directly in front of them. On the field to their right, soldiers practiced with swords and long shields, while the field to the left lay empty, but the targets told her what its purpose was. She decided to come out in the mornings when she had time to practice. Her sisters would never let her hear the end of it if she came home with her skills gone rusty.
Evony led the way towards the right field, Admina glancing around in short bursts, but looking back at the ground any time one of the soldiers met her gaze or even looked in her direction. That was something Evony thought she’d work on with her friend, especially if Evony was going to try and make her empress.
She didn’t stop until they were at the fence that surrounded the grassy field. Leaning her crossed arms over the top of the wood barrier, Evony studied the practicing men. Admina stood beside her, hands carefully folded in front of her, looking around with some interest.
The soldiers were uniformly men, something Evony found unnatural. Why use only half your potential troops? Still, the soldiers she watched weren’t bad. Their foundations looked good, though she thought they ought to practice a stab passing under the arm that held the shield in case of an opportunity to attack on that side. Turning would take time, during which the chance could slip away. Then again, her people’s ways relied heavily on speed.
The sound of footsteps drew Evony’s attention away from the practice to look behind them, Admina turning a few moments later. Three men were coming to a stop by them, two soldiers, while the third wore a short chiton, half-length robe of gold and black and a black cloak.
It was the last who drew Evony’s attention. He was lean, but had the whipcord kind of muscle more common among the Amazzi warriors, his bare calves giving her a clear enough view of that. His eyes were the blue shade so rare among her people, his hair the tawny colour of the lion pelt it was said her great-grandmother had slain. He looked them both over, making Admina duck her head and stare at the ground, his attention mostly focused on Evony.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his light voice holding a mix of curiosity and surprise with just a hint of accusation.
Evony’s eyebrows rose. “We’re exploring the palace. We were given leave to go where we liked, provided we weren’t told it was forbidden. Are the training grounds forbidden?”
He frowned slightly. “No, they are not.”
“Then there should be no issue.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You are a warrior, yes?” he said. At her nod, he continued. “What do you think of our soldiers?”
Evony considered briefly saying nothing, but if this man was asking honestly, it was her duty to reply honestly. “They have good foundations. They do leave their one side incapable of attack with the heavy shields and don’t seem to practice a cross-body stab. A blow with the shield might keep off an attacker, but the sword will deal better damage, especially with good aim.”
His frown deepened and he eyed her again. “Interesting,” was all he said. Before Evony had a chance to say anything else, he turned and left as abruptly as he’d arrived.
She stared after him. He hadn’t even given his name, let alone asked for theirs. She shook her head and looked at Admina, who was now glancing up. “Who was that?”
Her friend shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Evony snorted. “Well let’s hope we don’t run into him again,” she said, turning her attention back towards the practicing men.
Chapter 4: Attack in the Night
Evony’s eyes snapped open. All she could see was darkness as her eyes slowly adjusted to the tiny amount of light that crept in from around the edges of her room’s door. Noiselessly, she rolled out of her bed, grabbing the dagger that lay under her pillow and drawing the knife she wore even in sleep.
The footsteps that had stopped in front of her door hadn’t restarted, but every instinct and ounce of training told her whoever was out there hadn’t moved. Ghosting over so she stood to one side of the door, Evony pressed her back against the cool stone of the wall, keeping her breathing even as she strained her senses.
Her door burst open, the attacker rushing in a few steps then freezing as he noticed the empty bed. Evony didn’t hesitate. She jumped up and lashed out with a hilt-laden hand. Her blow slammed into the side of the man’s head and he dropped to one knee with a moan. Evony didn’t let him move any further, turning her landing into a pivot that had her foot smashing into his head again, this time with his momentum only stopping when he hit the wall.
Gripping her knife in preparation for finishing him, Evony’s attention was caught by a scream. Several other screams followed it. She threw herself towards her open door to see another man outlined in the doorway of Admina’s room.
Evony’s body followed her first impulse and she was halfway across the hall before she even realized she was moving. Her training asserted itself, allowing her to continue moving as her heart pounded in her ears and her mouth went dry. When the man half-turned to meet her, Evony’s body moved almost on reflex.
She ducked down, under his attempt to grab her, dodging around him so she was at his back. She shot her leg out so that it connected solidly with the back of his knee, sending him stumbling off balance. She spun and stabbed him in the side. He jerked away from her strike before she could rip down and across, crying out as her knife was yanked free of his body.
The blood dripped from Evony’s knife without her paying any attention to it, her attention focused on her opponent. He had a hand pressed to his injury, blood welling up between his fingers. She took a step towards him and he scurried back and fell. “Please,” he said. “Please, brightness, I never meant you harm.”
Evony’s eyebrows came down as she studied him, her brain finally acknowledging what the man was wearing. The long black tunic was familiar though she hadn’t immediately recognized it without a chestplate on top. A low hiss escaped her lips. “You’re a soldier.”
The man nodded rapidly, face still pale and his gaze alert to her every movement.
The other screams combined with the shouts and other noises she could hear coming from outside Admina’s room painted a clear enough picture. Her eyes alight with barely controlled emotions, Evony glared down at the man. “Was this a test?” she whispered, arms trembling with the force she used to clench her hands around her knives.
&nbs
p; The soldier gulped. “Yes, brightness.”
Evony’s eye twitched but she managed to keep herself from striking out at the man sitting prone in front of her. She couldn’t blame him for following orders, as much as she wanted to lash out at someone right now. His honour demanded he follow orders much the same as hers did. No, she had to take this up with the people who had authorized this.
She turned her attention to Admina instead. It took her a moment to find her friend. The sound of shaky breathing alerted Evony to Admina’s hiding place. She certainly approved of her friend’s strategy, especially since the other girl had no defensive training to speak of. Leaning over the bed, Evony could see the back of Admina’s head, her friend’s hands pressed into her hair as if to ward off a blow.
Evony took a deep breath and did her best to send out all of her anger at the same time so she didn’t frighten Admina, sheathing her knives as she did so. “It’s safe now,” she called. “You can come out.”
Her friend flinched and then slowly looked up. When she caught sight of Evony, her face crumpled up and she began to cry. “Evony!”
She offered Admina her hand. “You’re safe.”
Admina scrambled out from under her bed and practically threw herself at Evony. “I thought I was to going to be killed!”
Evony awkwardly patted her friend as the other girl clung to her. She really didn’t have any words or ideas for this situation, and settled instead for giving her opponent a look she hoped made him feel guilty for scaring Admina. He might not have had a choice in the matter, but he still deserved to feel bad given what he’d put her friend through.
The heavy tramping of synchronized footfalls drew Evony’s attention away from Admina. There was only one reason a whole unit of soldiers would be on their way and she hoped they were accompanied by someone in charge or none of them were going to be very happy when she was through.
Carefully she pulled away from Admina, patting the girl’s shoulder. “Everything’s fine,” she said. “Just stay here. I need to speak to the new arrivals.”
“But—” her friend stopped as she caught sight of the man still on the ground and bleeding. “Ev—”
She cut her off. “This was a test and he’s a soldier. I didn’t realize until I’d already marked him. As he is now, he’s no danger to you. Please, stay here while I sort the rest of this out.”
Admina hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, then nodded. “Please be careful.”
Evony offered her a hint of a smile and strode out of the room. Every door along their hall was open, some with people still visible inside, while the hall itself was chaotic. Young women in nightdresses sat, lay, and stood throughout the hall, several pale, some still crying, and one looked unconscious. Various men in identical black tunics to the men she’d fought stood awkwardly around, most trying to avoid looking at the women around them, while a few were trying to calm girls down.
At the very end of the hall were six soldiers in full uniform standing in two neat lines at attention. The man in front of them all was familiar. Evony hadn’t seen anyone else with that peculiar red-brown hair of his, and she was hardly likely to forget what the emperor’s aide looked like.
Her target acquired, Evony stalked towards him, noting the way he looked around. Her swift movement quickly caught his attention and he watched her approach. The tensing of the men around him made her realize her hand had fallen to the knife at her waist. A flick of her eyes told her that the short chiton she wore would need to be bleached to erase the blood splatter along the bottom.
Evony stopped in front of Rakin, consciously making the effort to drop her hands to her sides so she wasn’t tempted to pull a weapon. The anger that had flared back up showed in her eyes, she was sure. Her mother always said that when she was angry, it was like lightning flashed through her eyes. “Whose idea was this?” she demanded, not bothering with any sign of respect. Anyone who had ordered such a test didn’t deserve respect from her.
Rakin studied her for a moment. “This was by order of his imperial majesty,” he said, stressing the title the tiniest bit.
She took a step closer so that there was barely a hand’s difference between the two of them. “Then tell his imperial majesty that he is an idiot!” she snapped. “What kind of person thinks that terrifying a group of people, doubly so for a group of non-combatants, is a good idea? I don’t know what this was intended to test, but I can assure you, it wasn’t worth this!”
The aide leaned back from her words, his eyes widening slightly. “You—”
Evony had warmed to her subject and her voice rose along with her anger. “Most of these women are barely out of girlhood and you attack them in the night? If the emperor thinks this is an appropriate test for those not trained in fighting, I’ll be happy to help him practice dodging arrows! And so you’re aware, two of your men almost lost their lives tonight because of this test.”
Rakin blinked. Evony didn’t wait for a response but turned around and headed back towards Admina’s room. She was sure her friend still needed to be calmed down and as much as telling Rakin what she thought made her feel better, Admina was the higher priority.
Chapter 5: Third Test
While a rare sleep-in and breakfast had calmed Evony down, she still wasn’t much impressed with the whole competition. Even if the girl from Vernell had told her attackers she’d give and tell them anything they wanted if they left her alone and been cut from the contest because of it. Knowing that still wasn’t worth putting the rest of the girls through terror, especially since none of them would ever likely see battle. If it had been her and other Amazzi, she could have seen the merit, but not untrained girls.
And having spent two meals with them, listening to their chatter and seeing some of their behaviour, Evony knew that they were mostly girls. Only a few others looked to be of majority to her. Then again, Amazzi ways were not the ways of the mainland so she supposed she should adjust her thinking.
She was also glad that Admina had interests outside of clothing, hair, poetry and dances, which was most of what she’d heard the others talking about. While she liked all of those things, except poetry, she preferred to talk about things more...meaningful was the best word she could think of. She wondered if it was because she was older than most of the others, Amazzi, or because of the competition, but none of the others seemed to have much interest in anything of substance.
Sighing, Evony leaned back against the wall beside Admina’s door as she waited for her friend to finish changing. She also made a mental note to either wake up earlier or go in the evening to the training fields for practice. Though she supposed last night had to count for something.
She glanced around, noting that several of the girls had formed groups, with only a few alone or in pairs. One group, headed up by the loud silver girl, Venita she thought her name was, were whispering and looking at her. She ignored them. She’d overheard the comments at breakfast that they’d obviously intended her to hear, but if they thought saying she was mannish and violent was going to bother her, they clearly didn’t know her or her people. She wasn’t here to make friends or to fit in. She was here because her and her people’s honour demanded it.
Still, she smiled when Admina finally emerged in a fresh dress, having knocked her eggs into her lap when she’d heard what the other girls were saying. For all that she was quiet, hesitant, and a little fearful, her friend did still have some fire to her. It made Evony like her all the more.
The sound of marching feet drew Evony’s attention towards the entrance to their hall. She glowered as she saw Rakin coming in, followed by only two guards this time. She eyed the small wooden box he held for a moment, then pushed off from the wall. She nodded to Admina who flinched a little but followed her to where the emperor’s aide was now stopping.
It didn’t take long for all the girls to assemble ar
ound him. Nineteen sets of eyes watched Rakin’s every move as he stepped forward. “Congratulations on passing the second test. While some of you—” his gaze flicked to Evony for a brief second “—have protested the methods, this test, while rough, was designed to see how you would each deal with personal danger. While rare, assassination attempts and attacks do happen. Being able to keep yourself from being killed or kidnapped prior to help arriving is imperative. I’m glad that so many of you passed and you do have the emperor’s apologies for any fright it caused you.”
Evony snorted quietly. If it was a sincere apology the emperor would be there, making the apology himself. She didn’t think much of anyone who had his subordinate doing his dirty work for him.
“For our third test, I require each of you to draw a slip of paper from this box. If you would come up one at a time?” Rakin held the small box high enough not even Evony, tallest among all the candidates, would have been able to see over the top of it.
After some brief jostling, something like a line formed in front of Rakin. Evony and Admina were near the back, mixed in with the others who didn’t see a point in being first. Evony doubted they’d only have enough papers for part of the group, not that it would have bothered her if she were disqualified for that. But for Admina’s sake, she hoped it wasn’t the case.
By the time she reached Rakin, several of the girls were comparing papers, and she could hear numbers being whispered. So it was with little surprise that when she reached into the box and pulled out a paper, she found hers had a number four on it.
She moved to the side, waiting for Admina to join her with her number. “I have number one,” her friend said when she came to stand beside Evony. “What number do you have?”
The Emperor's Arrow Page 4
