It had, wonderfully, for my husband, so long ago.

Soul lords of Taglios. Silence fell. I had that spell right. My voice carried well. Thank you for coming. Taglios faces a severe test. The Shadowmasters are a threat that cannot be exaggerated. The tales out of the Shadowlands are ghosts of the truth. This city and nation has one hope: turn a single face toward the enemy. In faction lies defeat. They listened. I was pleased.

In faction, defeat. Some of you feel Im not the champion for Taglios cause. More of you have been seduced by lust for power. By factionalism. Rather than let that worsen and distract Taglios from its grand mission Ive decided to eliminate the cause of factionalism. Taglios will present one face after tonight.

I donned my helmet while they were waiting for me to announce my abdication. I set the witchfires free.

They began to suspect then. Someone shouted, Kina!

I drew my sword.

The arrows began to fall.

While I was talking Narayans picked men had placed barricades in the narrow streets entering the square. When I drew my sword, soldiers inside the surrounding houses let fly. Priests screamed. They tried to flee. They found the barricades too high. They tried to turn on me. My talent was enough to hold them off, beyond my terrified drummers. The arrows continued to fall.

They surged this way and that. They fell. They begged for mercy.

The arrowfall continued till I lowered my sword.

I dismounted. The Prahbrindrah Drah looked down, face bloodless. He tried to say something, could not speak. I warned you.

Narayan and his friends joined me. I asked, Did you send for the wagons? It would take dozens to haul the bodies to an unhallowed mass grave.

He nodded, no more able to speak than the prince. I told him, This is nothing, Narayan. Ive done lots worse. Ill do worse again. Check them out. See if anybody important is missing. I walked across the killing ground to tell the bowmen they could release the people who lived in the houses.

The Prahbrindrah never moved. He just sat there and stared, painfully aware that his presence made it seem he approved.

Ram found me there. Mistress, he gasped. He had run all the way from the barracks.

What are you doing here?

There is a messenger from Ghoja. From Blade. He rode night and day. Come immediately. He was not affected by the mass of bodies. He might have been watching the neighborhood women at the well instead of Narayans cronies finishing the wounded.

I went. I spoke with the messenger. For a minute I was furious with Blade. Then I saw the silver lining.

Blades actions gave me an excuse to move the troops out before they got wind of what had happened here tonight.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six