“I’ll remember that,” Kira promised.
“Pack everything you need before you go to bed. You’ll be leaving before dawn. And make sure Jason has his stuff packed and ready.”
“Why… ?” Kira sighed. “Because he’ll be my husband someday.”
“You got it. Husbands are really great to have around, but they need looking after.”
“Like horses,” Kira said.
“Yeah, actually… ” Her mother started laughing.
* * *
No matter how well you knew a place, it felt strange and different in the dark a couple of hours before dawn, when a special silence fell upon the world and the stars shone in a sky that never seemed to have known the warmth of a sun’s light. Kira shivered even though her new Mechanics jacket offered plenty of warmth. Her pistol rested snugly in its holster under the jacket, she had plenty of extra ammunition with her as well as some emergency food supplies, but a curious menace seemed to lurk about the place where she’d lived all her life.
“They’re ready,” her mother said in a hushed voice.
Kira slung her backpack on and reached out to Jason with one hand so that they walked together to where vague shapes loomed in the dark. As they got closer, the shapes resolved into those of three Mages and two gigantic birds.
Alain reached out to her as Kira reached him. “Be careful,” he said in her ear, his voice loaded with emotions her father usually kept suppressed. “Be careful and be wise.”
“I will,” Kira promised, thinking that if Mage Nika had taken the offered job all of Kira’s care and wisdom probably wouldn’t have saved her this morning.
She saw her mother giving Jason a farewell hug. “Make sure she gets back to us, Jason,” Mari said.
“I promise,” Jason replied. “And if there’s any way to convince Earth to help, I’ll do that, too. You guys… I owe you so much.”
“You’ve earned anything you’ve gotten,” Kira’s mother said. “Kira, be polite to Sien when you see her.”
“You don’t have to tell me that!”
“And take care of yourself.”
Kira walked to where Mage Alera waited as Jason walked over to Mage Saburo. Despite her tension, Kira felt a rush of affection as she climbed up on the back of Swift, Alera’s Roc. “Hi, Swift.”
Alera took her place just behind Swift’s neck. A moment later Swift leaped skyward, his vast wings spreading out to either side to cup the air and propel the Roc higher.
Kira leaned over, looking to catch a last glimpse of her mother and father on the ground below, their shapes rapidly dwindling and fading into the darkness as Swift climbed. She held her view of her parents as long as she could.
Mage Saburo’s Roc Hunter paced them as the mighty birds spiraled into the sky. Anyone spying from a distance would have seen Kira and Jason leave on Rocs, and hopefully believe they were following their original plan to fly north all the way to Altis. But when the birds were so high that they should be lost in the night sky, both Rocs swung south toward Pacta Servanda.
Kira didn’t have long to brood in the silence and chill of the night sky before Swift began circling downward toward a large courtyard in one of the newer parts of Pacta Servanda. The lights that normally illuminated the courtyard at night had dimmed, offering some concealment as Swift landed, Hunter coming in nearby.
“Thank you, Mage Alera. Thank you, Swift.” Kira unstrapped herself and slid off the giant feathers on Swift’s back. No sooner had she reached the ground than soldiers appeared.
“Good morning, Captain,” Sergeant Bete whispered.
Kira and Jason, surrounded by Lancers of the Queen’s Own, hastened out of the courtyard and down a silent, darkened street to where the lights of Pacta Servanda’s train station blazed against the predawn night.
Inside the station, Kira blinked against the sudden glare. After the silence so far, the sounds of the station seemed painfully loud. The rattle and clank of tools, the hiss of steam, the rumble of a boiler building pressure, the occasional snort or whicker of a horse being led into a livestock railcar, the conversations as soldiers and Mechanics prepared for departure.
Kira took a deep breath of air tinged with the scents of lubricating oil and fire, drawing comfort from the familiar sounds and smells. They spoke to her of home as much as her bedroom did. Up ahead she could see the train preparing to depart. One engine up front, a passenger car, a mixed baggage/meal car, another passenger car, the car intended for her and Jason, then another passenger car, baggage/meal car, and finally a passenger car. “I want to go by the engine,” she told Sergeant Bete.
As she drew closer to the locomotive at the front of the train, Kira felt a dawning sense of recognition. “I think that’s Betsy,” she said to Jason.
“Betsy?” he asked, looking at the women around them.
“The locomotive! Betsy’s a legend. She’s been training Apprentices and hauling trains for I don’t know how long.” Kira grinned at a memory. “I learned some steam skills driving her. And Mother almost blew her up at Dorcastle.”
“Say what?”
“Mother was trying to slow down the Imperial advance, so she rigged some locomotives to blow. She could have rigged Betsy, too, but she didn’t have the heart. So Betsy survived and here she is!”
Jason shook his head as he looked at the locomotive. “Is anything safe around you or your mother?”
“You are,” Kira said. “Mostly. Why are you so tense?”
“We’re going on a train.”
“Relax. I have no intention of jumping off this train.”
“I’ve never had any intention of jumping off any train,” Jason grumbled as they reached the locomotive. “And yet somehow it ends up happening. Hey, Gari!”
The Mechanic in the cab of the locomotive leaned out, grinning at them. “Hey, Jason. And who’s this Mechanic with you?”
“Lady Mechanic Kira,” she said with mock severity, then laughed and gave Gari a hug as he came down out of the cab. “Hi, honorary big brother. You’re driving Betsy?”
“Yup,” Gari said, wiping his hands on a rag. “Me and Apprentices Silene and Yuri.”
A young woman and a slightly younger boy came around the side of the locomotive, both smiling bashfully. “Good morning, Lady Mechanic.”
“Good morning,” Kira said. “I helped run Betsy when I was an Apprentice, too. Is this Mechanic treating you all right?”
Apprentice Silene nodded. “He works us twelve hours straight, gives us a couple of hours off to eat and sleep, and then another twelve hours.”
“Twelve hours straight?” Kira asked. “He’s going easy on you. When I was an Apprentice they worked us for fourteen hours straight.”
“Yeah,” Gari said. “Things aren’t as hard as they used to be, are they? You two go check the rods again. Make sure none are loose and they’re all lubricated.” As Silene and Yuri bent to check the rods on the drive wheels, Gari smiled at Kira again. “Congratulations, by the way, Lady Mechanic. Yeah, they asked me to drive this run. Something about me being reliable. They must not have talked to my parents.”
“Alli and Calu would’ve told them what a great guy you are,” Kira said with another laugh. “What’s the matter, Jason?”
He shrugged apologetically. “This is a really old piece of equipment? Is it safe?”
Gari nodded, smiling. “Really old, and really well maintained and repaired. Betsy is as reliable as they come. This isn’t like that Urth junk you were always boasting about.”
“I never boasted about it! Except to Kira a couple of times and after she shut me down for it I figured out that was a bad idea.”
“So how dangerous is this?” Gari asked Kira.
“Hopefully not dangerous,” she said.
“We’re hauling an armored railcar normally reserved for use by the Queen of Tiae, and loading two troops of cavalry,” Gari said.
“That’s just… preventive maintenance. To make sure nothing dangerous happens. And we’ve
got you driving, so no worries there.”
Sergeant Bete approached again. “Captain, your presence is requested in the main car.”
“All right,” Kira said. “Gari, I’d better go. I’ll talk to you again!”
“Sure, sure,” Gari said with a skeptical waveoff. “Lady Mechanic Captain Dragon Slayer Daughter of the Daughter. Like you have time for guys like me.”
“Gari, if I ever put on airs around you, I expect you to slap me down. I mean that literally. Give me a good one, hard enough to knock me on my butt and remind me who I am. Jason, if he does that, don’t you dare get mad at Gari.”
She and Jason followed Sergeant Bete to the car they’d be riding in. The queen’s car, Kira realized. After assuring Gari that she didn’t think she was special, she’d be riding in a car normally used only by Queen Sien.
The polished wood on the outside of the car offered no hint of the plates of armor beneath. There were fewer and smaller windows than most train cars had, but with the armored shutters drawn back on the inside they didn’t appear designed for protection. An illusion, Kira thought. The car looked like something other than what it was. Her world was filled with illusions, just as the Mages said.
Except for the people. They were all real, she hoped. Just as her father the only Master of Mages said.
Sergeant Bete left them at the door to the car. Kira went inside to the lounge, where two comfortable couches and some chairs faced each other. Leather gleamed and brass fixtures shone around them because, after all, this car was used to greet special guests when the queen was traveling.
Queen Sien herself stood in the center of the lounge, speaking with Colonel Anders. Though she usually wore suits for everyday attire, this morning the queen was in a uniform similar to that of the colonel. “Ah, Kira. Colonel, you have your orders. I’d like to speak with Kira alone.”
“Of course, your Majesty,” Colonel Anders said, saluting. He nodded to Kira and Jason as he left, all business. Kira noticed he was wearing combat-ready armor and weapons, not the showy gear intended for parades.
“Colonel Anders is personally commanding your escort to Gullhaven,” Sien told Kira. “Jason, you don’t have to leave. Anything I have to say to Kira you should hear, too. Please sit down.”
The queen paused for a moment, waiting, then sat down as well next to Kira. “How are you doing, Kira?”
Feeling awkward, she kept her reply formal. “I’m fine, Your Majesty.”
“Kira, you know I’m Sien to you in private,” the queen chided her. “You called me Sien as a toddler for years before realizing I was the queen of Tiae.”
Kira couldn’t help smiling at the reminder. “I’m sorry, Sien. There’ve been so many things happening the last few years, sometimes I have trouble keeping everything in perspective.”
“You’re doing a very good job,” Sien said, and Kira could see she meant it, which made Kira’s face warm with embarrassment. “Kira, in less than a month you’ll be eighteen. Legally an adult. There’s something you were never told, something that will soon be overtaken by events and never happen. But you should know of it. Especially since you’ve felt betrayed to learn I was never really your queen.”
“Another secret?” Kira asked, dreading what might come next.
“Yes,” Sien admitted, her eyes serious as they studied her. “You know that your parents were worried about what might happen to them. Worried that they might be killed, and you be left an orphan. Soon after you were born they made arrangements to ensure that you’d be safe if that happened.”
“I guessed that,” Kira said. “The only thing I couldn’t figure out was who I’d end up with. I thought it’d most likely be Alli and Calu.”
“No,” Sien said with a shake of her head.
“Dav and Asha?”
“No. None of them could have provided the protection you’d have needed. It would have been me, Kira. I signed the papers some time ago. If the worst had happened, I would have taken you in.”
“Oh.” That was a major surprise. And not a bad one. “Um, thank you. I’m glad it wasn’t necessary. I’m sure you would’ve made a wonderful guardian for me.”
Sien shook her head again. “I didn’t agree to be your guardian. I agreed to adopt you.”
“You… ” Kira stared at the queen.
“You would have become Kira of Tiae, my daughter.”
“But—”
“And my chosen heir,” Sien continued. “Under the laws I’ve championed, the people of Tiae would have had to accept you as their queen someday, but I think they would have done so. Kira, if your parents had died, if Mari had not been there to deal with so many things and maintain the peace, I thought it likely that I would also die, in defense of Tiae. If that happened, Tiae would need a fighter, someone who could defend this land. I knew you would be such a fighter.” She smiled at Jason. “Though I admit to hoping that you would find a partner who would help moderate your wilder behaviors. Kira, I wanted you to know that I would have made you my daughter. I’m not your queen, I never was, but I’d agreed to become your mother if you needed one.”
Kira tried desperately not to cry. “Can I… can I pretend that you’re still my queen?”
“That can be our secret,” Sien said.
She reached out and Kira embraced her. “If Tiae ever needs me,” Kira whispered, “I’ll fight for Tiae. That can be our secret.”
As she drew back, Kira saw Sien smiling. “I think Tiae has plenty of fighters now, Kira. Any number of people could step into the job of defending this kingdom, and I think do well at it. Tiae needs something else in its next queen or king.”
“What are you looking for?” Kira asked as she leaned back, wiping her eyes.
“A heart, Kira.” Sien glanced toward the windows of the rail car. “My people know how to fight. That was the curse that led to the breaking of the kingdom, and the strength that enabled us to rebuild it, with the invaluable help of your mother and father. Since the reforging of the kingdom, many new citizens have come here and become part of Tiae. There are those who have trouble accepting the newer arrivals. And the newer arrivals need to become one with us while also being themselves. What we will need is understanding matched to that fighting spirit. I still haven’t found someone whose heart is large enough and wise enough to embrace all of Tiae. That’s why I have yet to name a preferred heir for the people to vote on when the time comes. Jason, you look puzzled.”
Jason, sitting next to Kira, nodded. “I’m a little confused. You’re the queen. But you said the people get to vote on who comes after you.”
“That’s my choice, Jason,” Sien explained. “I saw, all too clearly, the dangers of leaving the leadership of a kingdom, or any country, as an inheritance to one family. It’s far too important a task to be left to the hope that the son or daughter of a worthy person would be up to it, and that their daughter or son would also be. By the laws I’ve seen passed, even if I have a dozen children, none of them would have a right to the throne. I can name who I wish to succeed me, but whoever that is must be approved by the people of Tiae. And whoever that is can be removed at a future date if the people decide.”
Kira glanced at Jason. “What Queen Sien isn’t saying is that her people think the world of her and will vote for whoever she recommends as heir.”
Sien nodded. “Which makes the matter of choosing an heir all the more important. I don’t want Tiae to descend again into the struggles that once broke it, or into the ruthless debauchery of the Imperial court.”
“Sabrin will change the Imperial court,” Kira said. “She told me that and she meant it.”
“I hope she succeeds,” Sien said. “So, now you know. The day you turn eighteen the legal agreement for me to adopt you loses all force. But you deserved to know of it.”
“Thank you,” Kira said. She gave a half sigh, half laugh. “I’m glad it never happened. I mean, obviously, because I wouldn’t have wanted Mother and Father to die. But also… I grew up fee
ling so different. So separated from others. Being a sort-of princess too might have been the last straw.”
“You wouldn’t have been a sort-of princess,” Sien said. “Just an actual princess.”
“No! Too weird. Though Jason might have been thrilled if he’d ended up engaged to a princess.”
Jason shook his head, smiling. “I love the Kira I found here. I wouldn’t want her to be any different.”
“Yeah. You say that now. Wait’ll I’m having a bad day again. Queen Sien,” Kira added, becoming formal in her speech and posture, “thank you. For so many things.”
Sien inclined her head toward Kira. “You’re welcome. Find the means of dealing with the threat that exists under Pacta Servanda and I’ll be more than repaid for anything I’ve done.”
“We will,” Kira vowed.
Kira sat for a while after Queen Sien left, her thoughts swirling inside her, only vaguely aware of the sounds from outside of the continuing preparations to leave. Finally she looked at Jason again. “Are you sure you wouldn’t have preferred a princess?”
Jason smiled. “Would that have made me a prince when we got married?”
“Sort of. You’d have been a prince consort. Royal eye candy on my arm for public events, and assistant in producing royal heirs in private.”
“Sounds like a great job.”
Colonel Anders entered, all business as Kira and Jason jumped to their feet. “We’ll be leaving in a couple of minutes, Lady Mechanic Kira. There are two cars full of Lancers ahead of this one, and another two cars of Lancers behind you. I’ll be in the next car ahead of this one. Contact me if you need anything.”
“Thank you, Colonel,” Kira said. “Are there any stops on the way?”
“Only at Debran, to take on more fuel and water for the locomotive. The Mechanics say the speed of the train will have to be limited because of the weight of this car. Moving too fast might cause a derailment. We won’t be able to travel nearly as fast as an express normally would.” Anders paused. “Lady, I have orders from the queen to defer to you on most matters. But if an emergency arises, the queen ordered me to take command. If I call you Captain Kira, I will be in command and expect my orders to be followed.”