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“What are your plans?” Spider asked.

“We have defeated General Kacha. However, if there were some near the Ariphadeus desert who were supporting him, they must suffer consequences for doing so. Any inside the Imperium who were offering him aid must also face consequences.” Tallu looked down at the map. “And we must stop Bemishu before he creates a stronghold in the Ariphadeus.”

“Your Imperial Majesty,” General Saxu said. “Bemishu has spent his life throwing himself at the Ariphadeus desert. He has never managed to win it. All it has done is cost the Imperium money, supplies, and men. Cut off from those three things, he will not last long. Perhaps it would be smarter to collect your power back in the Imperium and wait to see if he is even able to drag himself out of the desert.”

“Something may have changed,” Sagam said. Even General Saxu seemed surprised to hear him speak.

When he hesitated to say more, Tallu lowered his chin just slightly to indicate Sagam should continue.

“I have been speaking with some of my Dogs, and they say that the general was close to a discovery that would change the face of war forever. He had found something in the desert that he thought would give the Imperium the ability to take over any nation. If we leave him in the desert, there is a chance he will not emerge broken, but with this weapon.”

“And by Dogs, you mean the Bemishu twins. His daughters.” General Saxu’s voice was very mild, giving away nothing of his opinion on the source of Sagam’s information.

“While they were at court, they knew both Kacha and Bemishu better than anyone else.” Sagam hesitated again, but pulled his shoulders back, looking at Tallu. “We have seen the danger of underestimating the generals that once served under you. Had General Maki been left in Krustau, he might have been able to conquer the Imperium with his deathless monsters.”

“I do not like the idea of leaving this war unfinished,” Tallu said. “I know your men are tired, General Saxu. But we must take the provinces around the Ariphadeus, we cannot leave General Bemishu to his own devices. We do not need to march into the Ariphadeus immediately. Taking the provinces around the desert should give our men time and space to rest as well as fresh supplies. We will go there next rather than returning to the Imperium. Kennelmaster.” Tallu turned, and Sagam straightened. “What would you suggest about the lords within the Imperium who supported General Kacha?”

“They will likely not interfere while we are in the desert. Their focus would be on the Imperium, and they can be dealt with when we return,” Sagam said slowly. “We may have lost most of the Dogs, but there are other ways to get rid of them.”

He glanced at Asahi, and I followed his gaze, wondering what he meant. Saxu seemed to accept Sagam’s reasoning, not making any further argument, turning to Tallu for his decision.

Tallu didn’t hesitate. He couldn’t. Hesitating would show weakness in front of men who had just risked their lives for him over and over again.

If he had shown indecision, then General Saxu may have felt he needed to manage Tallu, beginning by secretly making the decisions for Tallu’s own benefit.

“We must show these lords of the Ariphadeus by whose grace they rule their territory. I trust, General Namati, that you will obey the terms of our arrangement as the new governor of Tavornai.” Tallu looked at him, flicking just the slightest glance at Spider.

“It will be my honor, Your Imperial Majesty,” General Namati said, bowing and forming his fingers into a triangle.

“Good,” Tallu said. “What is the safest route to the Ariphadeus?”

The safest route had been the areas of Tavornai slashed and burned by the Imperium over a century ago. Unfortunately, the pirates and I had just regrown those areas. Which meant that now, the safest way to get to the Ariphadeus was to circle around the coast to the south, then track inward along the mountain range that separated the Ariphadeus from Tavornai.

We would take General Kacha’s surviving soldiers with us. All of them had been eager to pledge their loyalty to Tallu, and it meant that we were marching into the Ariphadeus with seven hundred men rather than forty.

The ghosts seemed grateful to have work again, silently moving between the ships and returning with information. Four of our new recruits were mysteriously killed during the night, and my only regret was that Tallu had directed Sagam to do it. I found myself lost without the goal of killing Kacha. Now that he was gone, the steel of my blades felt too dry.

By the time we sailed to the appointed place, my magic had refilled itself, Naî had sated herself on all the fish the pirates were willing to offer, and Iradîo had begun making friends with the seabirds.

“It will still take several days to reach the mountain range,” Spider said. “You have grown something out there. Are you sure it will not attack you in your sleep?”

“Yes,” I said, although I was not sure at all.

“Have you had any more of those dreams? Or touched that ocean of power within you again?” Spider asked.

I shook my head, looking at her suspiciously. “Why? Is there something I should know?”

“Likely quite a bit,” Spider said. “It is good that you are going into the Ariphadeus. If you are to find your answers, I believe it will be there. All I know is that yours is a fate I see, but just because I know what shape it will take does not mean I know the path to get there. Nor do I know what it will truly look like.”

I hesitated, wanting to know, but also understanding that because I knew the threads of fate were unchanging, as soon as she told me, it would be set in stone. Right now, not knowing what the future held, I still could hold on to hope for what it might become.

“Will Tallu and I find happiness?” I asked.

“That is impossible for me to say. That is one of those aspects of your fate that can be changed.” Spider reached out, putting her hand on my shoulder. “But the two of you will be together.”

I wanted to ask more but couldn’t. What if she told me something I didn’t want to hear? What if I learned that together meant together in death?

I would have to have faith in our own interpretation of the dragon seer’s promise. We would unite the continent in peace.