Page 74 of The Jasad Crown
“I already gave you permission to claim whatever you want.” Impatience punctuated the sentence. “Essam is uncontested territory.”
“There is a Nizahl holding at the nexus of these coordinates, Your Majesty. If Lukub claims the territory, it would mean laying claim to the holding, as well.”
Vaida ran her tongue along the inside of her bottom lip. “It would certainly get Arin’s attention. The question is, is now the best time for it?”
Sefa had heard the whispers about this even before she came to Lukub. Vaida had been steadily expanding into Essam for years, claiming more and more territory for Lukub as she did. Nobody had stopped her—who would waste soldiers to protect the woods?—but it had not gone unnoticed. So long as she didn’t impede on a trade route or compromise access to Hirun, the rulers did not seem inclined to curb the Sultana’s ill-advised expansion.
Why had Vaida brought her along for this?
“You are confident in these coordinates, Bausit?” Vaida narrowed her eyes. “Or will I need to come down here in another three weeks to grant you further leave to waste my time and claim more useless land for my kingdom?”
Bausit wrung his hands together. “Kera traced seventeen disappearances to that location in Essam, Your Majesty. He saw the links of their life chain wind through Essam and sever within ten miles of the holding.”
Sefa’s heart, which had not enjoyed a moment’s respite this entire night, broke into a gallop. Surely she couldn’t be hearing what she thought she was hearing.
“You have my leave to capture the territory Kera wants,” Vaida said. “Try to stay as far away from the holding as you can, but if you must claim it under our flag, do so without violence. Capturing the land around a Nizahl holding is one thing, but Arin will not ignore a slaughter of his soldiers.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.” Bausit bowed, and as suddenly as he had appeared, the tall man melted into the shadows once again.
Vaida chewed on her lip for a second, deep in thought. Then, “Should we have the driver fetch us halawa? I prefer it with pistachios, but we can get a plain square for you, if you object.”
Maybe Sefa should have walked into a Lafa Souda, just to confirm this wasn’t a terrible dream. It certainly seemed like one, with the Sultana musing about a breakfast treat in a dark alley while a hooded man ran off to potentially trigger an act of war.
“The man he mentioned, Kera…” Sefa’s imagination had never been anything impressive, and she simply lacked the creativity to have dreamed this night. Which meant it was horribly, jarringly real. “Is he Jasadi?”
“Half.” Vaida tightened her cloak around her frame and strolled in the direction from which they’d entered. “Jasadi father, Lukubi mother. Fascinating magic. Terrible taste in hats.”
“He uses his magic for you?” Sefa hurried to catch up, wary of the darkness collecting at the other end of the alley.
“Who else would he use it for?”
“I don’t understand. Magic is forbidden.”
“Then you should probably stop talking about it, dear. You wouldn’t want someone to get the wrong idea.”
The next words died on Sefa’s tongue. Vaida’s tone had shifted ever so slightly. Sefa was pushing against the fragile barrier between Vaida’s good humor and the wrath responsible for throwing people into wells.
After a stretch of climbing, Sefa cleared her throat.
“I like pistachios.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
SYLVIA
My knees hit the dirt. I careened forward, the blanket weathering the worst scratches from the tree I caught myself against.
I ran a quick check. Ten fingers, one nose, all my toes.
Smooth as a heated blade against butter, instinct cut through the haze of my panic; I used the tree to heft myself to my feet, listening closely for any movement.
Where had my magic taken me?
I scanned the crop of trees and scraped my heel against the soil. Crumbling, cracked dirt, and no evidence of mosquitoes, so I wasn’t near Hirun. The close cluster of trees placed me somewhere in the north, probably in the sector of Essam Woods between Nizahl and Lukub.
I searched for black raven marks on the trees or any northern vegetation I could use to identify my whereabouts. It did not stand to reason I should be dropped in a random corner of Essam. What was I missing?
I went stiff at the sound of voices and pressed behind the tree.
