The Emperor's Arrow

by Lauren DM Smith

  Without thinking about it first, Evony began to reciprocate. She did her best to match his lips movements, pressing herself even more closely against him, one arm going around his neck, the other wrapped into the folds of his tunic. This seemed to encourage Galen and he pushed himself forward, forcing Evony to back up until she was against the wall.

  With the full force of his hard body against her, Evony found herself enveloped in Galen’s scent, a clean, faintly spicy smell that made the space between her legs get even tighter. His lips continued their delicious assault on hers and Evony fought back as best she could. From the way Galen shifted against her, Evony thought she was doing well, until he moved away.

  As he pulled away and the comparatively cooler air hit where his body had been, a little whine came from the back of Evony’s throat. She didn’t want to stop. Not so soon at least. Her chest heaved, and Evony realized she was warm all over and slightly out of breath, like she’d been running.

  Galen was breathing harder as well, but he seemed to be handling it better if the way he was focused on straightening his tunic was any indication. Once he was finished, he looked at her. “I believe we are very compatible.”

  It took a few moments for Evony’s brain to catch up, her body still complaining about the sudden stop to the activities it had liked. Then she nodded and tried to fan her cheeks to cool them a bit. “I guess so. I hadn’t thought a test like that existed,” she said, voice cracking a little.

  “It is best not to use it unless you are relatively certain of the outcome. Misuse could be...disastrous.”

  Evony could imagine. She’d been warned enough growing up about the different types of people on the mainland and the different cultures. Many she imagined would find such an act forbidden or reserved only for lifemates. People always did forbid the most pleasurable things.

  “Shall we?” He jerked his chin towards the next garden over.

  She nodded again, brain still trying to reconcile everything so she wasn’t about to try speaking again. She wasn’t sure what she’d say. Still, Evony thought if Galen knew that kind of technique just for kissing, laying with him would be well worth it, and not just for her duty.

  Chapter 8: Factions

  Evony crossed through the main entrance to her building, her gaze sweeping around so that she could see everyone and everything. With the exception of a few handfuls of servants and one or two aides hurrying by, the main area was quiet, as it most often was. Her feet knew the path and didn’t need her direction to bring her to the smaller hall where she and the other candidates were housed.

  The rest of the walk with Galen had gone well, with his asking her more about Amazzi and she about the palace. If she were to help him, then she needed all the information she could get. As for the offer of fathering children for both of them... Evony still need some time to consider it. There would be far more repercussions than if she lay with a man who wouldn’t know that he’d been stud for her.

  Evony had barely made it into the hall when Admina rushed towards her. Following with more decorum and only a little less haste were Venita and her followers. She repressed a sigh and stopped, waiting for them to catch up with her without saying anything. She offered a slight smile to Admina when the other girl came up beside her, but otherwise kept her face as blank as she could as the other girls arrayed themselves before her.

  Venita was clearly their leader, which often surprised Evony when she saw Primus Paran of Regem. She was also a member of the first families and seemed decent enough from the few interactions that Evony had had with her. She really didn’t understand why she’d attached herself to Venita of all people, especially since she seemed to know almost everyone there. At least, Evony had seen her speaking to almost every girl still in the competition and several who had left.

  The other two members made more sense. Rector Cerys of Eirian was from a silver province, and as the Argentia family was the first and premier family of silver, Evony wasn’t surprised to find her following Venita. Regulus Akasma of Deniz held herself with great pride and seemed to consider anyone below the rank of Magna to be beneath her.

  They stood in a line in front of Evony, the others just back from their leader, the light-brown-haired girl in silver.

  “Where have you been?” Venita demanded.

  Evony raised her eyebrows. “That’s hardly your concern, now is it?”

  The brunette narrowed her eyes and took a step closer. “It is if you were with his imperial majesty beyond the assigned time.”

  Evony snorted. “No, it wouldn’t be. Whatever happens between me and Galen is of concern only to me and Galen.”

  Venita paled then glared. “Who gave you leave to call his imperial majesty by his given name? A barbarian might not know—”

  Evony cut her off, tired with the conversation and more than tired of Venita. “It was Galen who told me to call him that in place of Adnuhom. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do with my time than listen to your venom.”

  Without waiting for a response, Evony swung around the girls with the still-silent Admina trailing behind her. Venita was too well schooled to sputter, but the way she opened her mouth and closed it did make her look like a hooked fish. “Halt!” she called after Evony.

  She ignored her, continuing towards her room. She passed Chana of Yarkona who nodded at her. Evony nodded back, noting the girls who flanked the Primus in green. Neah and Fiorella she knew from the group challenge, and the last girl was in green as well, Magna Lapis of Tale.

  Looking around the hall and seeing Asahi standing with the candidate from Alani, Evony realized that she didn’t see Magna Sheshan or Rector Vashti of Azar. A quick glance at their doors showed their names had been taken off. Which brought them down to half the number of candidates they’d started with. And as Evony could now see, four factions.

  Venita’s and Chana’s were the most obvious as well as the largest. Her and Admina and Asahi and Praetor Mahina of Alani were the two outlying factions who acted more as outsiders. Though knowing Chana and Venita both, Evony knew if she was asked, she would back Chana. She imagined Asahi and Mahina would do the same, but really couldn’t be sure. She filed away the information to tell Galen later. She supposed the information of who stood with who might be useful to him. Knowing who your enemy’s allies were was useful no matter the battlefield. Not that she really knew who the enemy was, but she imagined the Adnuhom would have more information than she would.

  Once in the safety of her room, Evony shut the door behind Admina, ignoring the way Venita was coming towards the room. If she attempted to force her way in, which Evony doubted, she’d soon regret the act. With a sigh, Evony dropped down cross-legged onto the ground, gesturing towards the bed for Admina.

  Her friend sat gingerly, face regaining its normal colour. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I tried to warn you before—”

  Evony cut her off with a headshake. “You couldn’t have stopped her. And don’t worry. I can handle Venita. She’s not the first bit of nightshade I’ve come across.”

  At the look of confusion on Admina’s face, she smiled. “Pretty to look at, but in reality poisonous. We Amazzi might have a different culture, but people are people no matter where you go.”

  That startled a giggle out of Admina. “I like that word.”

  “I thought you might,” she replied, with a smile. “Now, tell me how your walk with Galen went.”

  Her friend flushed a little and looked down at her lap. “It went well enough. I was able to speak to him. I...I did say that I wasn’t certain I wanted to be empress. He said I was very honest and I told him that you had said it would be best. He said he appreciated it. He isn’t quite as frightening as I thought he would be.”

  Evony nodded. “The rumours paint him as something like a monster. I won’t forget that he is the man who conquered
the world, but the more I see and learn of him, the more I wonder what drove him to it. Someone like him must have had a reason.”

  “Are you interested in him?”

  “He is the Adnuhom, the man who rules us. Of course I have an interest in him.” Evony ignored the faint tingle her body gave her as a reminder of why else she found him interesting. The kiss had been...well, if anyone had told her that sticking someone else’s tongue in your mouth would feel good, she’d have said they were crazy. But now she could hardly deny her reaction. She wondered what other things mainlanders knew about...

  Realizing Admina was staring at her and that she’d been silent for a little too long, Evony smiled. “Since we have the rest of the day free, why don’t we see if we can borrow some horses and go for a short ride? Something to get us out of here.”

  “That sounds good,” Admina replied softly, smiling.

  Evony returned the expression and stood. It would be good to get the exercise and hopefully it would help her think through what she was going to do. Because it seemed like every day she spent in the palace ended up more complicated with more layers and things she had to worry about. Evony missed not just her home, but the relative simplicity of the Amazzi way of life.

  * * *

  Stomach full and with the her lamp blown out, Evony sat on the ground in the dark, her back against her bed. The stone was cool and helped leach some of the residual heat of the day out of her. She sighed and tilted her head back, letting her shoulders slowly unknot. If she had to endure another dinner with Venita, she wouldn’t be able to hold her tongue. Evony couldn’t figure out why Venita was so focused on her. It wasn’t like she’d spoken to Venita prior to the beginning of the competition.

  She had made certain to listen to the chatter of the other girls, paying attention to anything that could be of use to Galen. Most of it had been about things they missed from home, complaints or praise for the food, and giggling talk about some of the young men they’d seen from a distance or dared speak to. Evony had heard a few whispers about the departed girls, but nothing that stuck out to her. Most of it seemed to be about who their families were and what standing they had at court, generally compared to whoever was speaking’s family. Evony had memorized it all to relay to Galen when she had a chance, in case he’d find use in it.

  The reminder of him brought Galen’s face to the fore of her mind. His face always had a blank expression in her mind, but every once in a while he let those hints of expression escape. It had her watching him more intently than she probably should, trying to catch the flickers of emotion before they disappeared. But he was hard to read even when she did see them.

  Evony opened her eyes to stare into the blackness of her room. She wondered what it was that had turned him to stone. She couldn’t imagine he’d been like that as a child, even if he did grow up in the palace. Though what little she’d seen told her she was grateful to have lived until now without the politics and posturing she saw. The competition was rife with it and she knew she was only noticing a small portion of it. Those who knew more of court probably picked up all the undercurrents.

  All she really knew of the palace and the Adnuhom were the rumours. And those that had made their way to Silvinsula were the ones she thought were the most overblown and embellished. It was true that Galen had conquered the world, that was fact, but she didn’t see the monster they spoke of. The man who lived for war.

  But if she was honest, she really didn’t know Galen all that well. He did seem isolated to her. The only people she ever saw around him were guards and the occasional advisor. And those, with the exception of Rakin and Balint, never stayed long. She wondered if he was lonely.

  Lips pursed, Evony shoved those thoughts away. They weren’t anything she should be focusing on at the moment. Instead, she thought again on Galen’s proposal. She had to admit, it was not a bad offer. He was the Adnuhom and was definitely more than suitable to be a stud for her. She hadn’t seen him fight, but the way he moved with just the hint of a predator about him told her he was well trained. He seemed intelligent, she couldn’t imagine an idiot would be able to successfully rule the whole empire, and he’d survived court so far. He was good stock.

  And Galen’s test had shown her they were more than compatible physically at least. Evony tried not to dwell on that, especially given the way her body tightened at the memory. She needed to figure this out, not end up distracted. She owed Galen an answer.

  Evony reflected on the sorry state of her current list of potential studs. It was still terribly short, she’d only added two names to the maybe section. While those two were soldiers she’d been tutoring at her practice, she thought she might have more luck among the officers. If she ever had the chance to talk to them.

  It was still a pity that the legate, Balint, wasn’t two decades younger. Then she wouldn’t even hesitate. Evony sighed again. She’d been hoping for a lifemate, but at this point, she didn’t think she was going to find one. Galen’s offer was really the best option. For both of them. Provided neither of them were able to find someone suitable for a permanent pairing.

  With her decision made, Evony stood. She had her practice in the morning and who knew what afterwards. With the way the competition was going, she half-expected to be sent on a hunt for a Pegasus or something equally ridiculous. Certainly none of the contests had been anything she could have thought of. As she settled herself into her bed, Evony couldn’t help but wonder how Galen was coming up with their tasks. And what the point of each of them really was.

  Chapter 9: Legate

  Yanking the last of her arrows out of the target, Evony walked back to the firing line, behind the last of the soldiers. Her muscles were a trifle tired and her back and neck were slick with sweat just now cooling. It had been nice to get a full workout in.

  She stopped once she was level with the archers, watching the man nearest her intently. She could see the way he moved his hands all over as he tried to get the perfect shot and shook her head. Evony moved over and lightly tapped him on the shoulder, startling him so that he almost shot his arrow into the sky.

  “Whoa!” she said, holding her hands up. “Watch where you aim.”

  He flushed. “My apologies, brightness.”

  “Here.You’re focusing too much on the target.”

  The soldier frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “Focus on your stance. If your stance is good, the shot will be good. Aiming will follow naturally. You’ll be focused on where your body is, meaning you won’t be moving around as much which in turn will help your arrow fly truer. It may take a little time to get used to, but it will help.”

  He looked a little skeptical but seemed to go along with it. Evony could see a few of the nearby soldiers staring at them for a moment then turning their attention back to the targets. More than a few seemed to be resettling themselves, shifting their holds on their bows and readjusting the position of their feet. She nodded her approval before turning back to the man she was focused on.

  His spine was rigid, his whole posture screaming discipline. It also didn’t look natural or comfortable. “Try a more open stance,” she told him. “And while you need to focus on your body’s position, don’t tighten yourself up too much. You know what happens to a bowstring that’s too tight, right?”

  He blinked for a moment then offered a half smile. She grinned back and watched him shift again. This time he looked more natural, his whole body more relaxed. She could see him start to chase the target around for a moment, but stopped prior to her saying anything.

  His first shot hit only the edge of the target and he turned to look at her. She smiled encouragingly and waved her hands towards the target. He resettled himself and shot again. This arrow was closer, as was the next. By the time he’d emptied his quiver, his shots were all in the three innermost rings.

  “It wil
l take more time for it to be natural and for you to be consistent, but continue like you have and you’ll do well,” she told him after his last arrow thunked into the ring one out from the centre.

  “Thank you,” he replied, grinning now. His fellows were giving them sidelong looks, a few sidling closer to hear what they were saying.

  Evony swallowed a chuckle. She’d make a point of giving advice to someone else next time, now that she seemed to have been accepted at morning practice. Even their officer had asked her to give a demonstration first thing when they arrived.

  However, now that she was finally cooler, Evony wanted to get clean. She waved her goodbye, receiving more than a few raised arms in response before she left the training fields. She hurried towards the women’s baths, more than ready to wash away the sweat her workout had caused.

  * * *

  Evony had barely moved away from the doorway to the baths when she was stopped by a man stepping into her path. His greying brown hair over his wide grin was starting to become familiar to her. She offered him a closed fist over her heart. “Legate,” she said.

  He chuckled. “Must we be so formal, Evony, daughter of Zarina?”

  She shrugged, eyeing him. He seemed more relaxed today, though he was dressed the same as he always was. She wondered if he slept with his cuirass on the way she always had at least two of her knives handy. She didn’t think he slept with a sword, though she couldn’t imagine the armour would be comfortable either.

  Realizing he was speaking, she refocused on him. “—wondered what you thought of our emperor?”

  Evony kept her face as blank as she could while inwardly she frowned. Why was he asking her, when he lived in the palace? She did her best to keep her feelings from her face, not realizing that a wrinkle had formed in between her brows, and said, “He is younger than I thought.”