Page 42 of The Nymph King

The captain saluted again, considerably less formally this time. “Gladly.”

As he turned away, he called over his shoulder, “I’ll tell the kitchens to expect disappointment.”

With a flat look from Ellisar, the soldiers around them broke into another round of restrained laughter, then gradually returned to their work.

Imani rolled her wand between her fingers. These people respected Ellisar enough to fall silent when he spoke and follow him into violence, but they also knew where the edges were. A captain could tease him after a battle and trust that authority would not become humiliation simply because someone had made him the subject of a joke.

As the laughter faded, movement on one of the vessels behind them caught Imani’s attention.

The surviving Lochheim civilians were still there. Norn soldiers had taken control of several captured ships and were guiding them toward the shore. The Lochheim combatants had been separated from the families, their wrist-wands removed and their hands bound, but the women and children remained clustered among their belongings. Imani recognized the little boy carrying the wooden toy. He had both arms wrapped around it now, watching the Norn soldiers as though waiting to learn whether surviving the slip had merely delivered him into another kind of danger.

Her amusement disappeared. “What happens to them?”

Ellisar followed her attention toward the captured vessels. “The soldiers will be disarmed and detained. The civilians will be questioned.”

“And then?”

“That depends on what we learn.”

Imani put her hand on her hip. “Are you sending them back?”

His expression turned contemplative. “They entered Essenheim behind an invading army.”

“The children did not.”

“The soldiers did,” Ellisar argued.

“I’m aware. I watched them kill ours.”

“Then you understand why I cannot simply open Vathis to them,” he said with a sigh.

Imani lifted her chin to better look him in the eyes. “I didn’t say open Vathis to an enemy.”

He stared right back. “What do you call asking me to allow an invading population to remain inside Essenheim after they forced their way through a slip in the Fabric?”

“I’m asking you not to send families and children back through a breach we just watched nearly become a Fabric event.”

He scratched the scruff on his cheek but said nothing, thinking.

“Detain the soldiers,” Imani cut in. “Take their wands. Question them. If any of them murdered civilians or committed crimes beyond the battle, deal with them individually.”

Ellisar studied her, still rubbing his face.

“But the families stay.”

“Imani—”

“They stay.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “They attacked your kingdom.”

“Their army attacked my kingdom, and I will defend Essenheim against them every time they do.” She pointed toward the other vessel. “But just because their soldiers came through first, doesn’t mean the families need to be refused help.”

“And the soldiers?”

She considered the question, then added, “Anyone who keeps fighting is an enemy. Anyone who lays down a wand is a prisoner until we know what they did. After that, we judge people for their own actions.”

“Not for being Lochheim.”