Lin leaned forward, the steam from the mug below curling tendrils about her cheeks. “Tell her to stand down first, and then we will negotiate the terms of peace.”

“That won’t be acceptable,” Leaf said.

She studied him, her expression softening. “What does she truly want? Does she think that being Emperor will solve any of her problems?”

“It solves some of ours.” He did not waver from her gaze. “I want to live. Can you offer me clemency?”

Well, I knew the answer to that. She couldn’t protect both citizens and constructs alike. A person couldn’t make a wolf and goat live in peace. Lin, however, surprised me. “I know you think your situation is hopeless, but I’m still learning and discovering things about bone shard magic. Give me a chance to do more research. There may be a way for us to coexist. Wouldn’t that be better than murdering helpless citizens?”

Leaf lifted his hands as though they were a set of scales. “One leader promises me an empire. The other says that perhaps we can be allowed to live in peace. Which bargain would you take, Eminence?”

“Yes, I understand your point. But surely there are those you care about. What happens to them in a war? How many of them will die?”

A flicker of emotion crossed Leaf’s thin face before his expression flattened. “I don’t think feelings were written into my commands.” He stated it smoothly, confidently, but I knew: he was lying. He cared about his construct companions – much more than he was letting on. It felt like the world were shifting beneath me, as it had on Deerhead Island. Could a construct have feelings? I’d only encountered lower level constructs whom I could easily confuse. I’d never met the Emperor’s more complex constructs. I’d heard tales of Mauga, Ilith, Tirang and Uphilia – of their intelligence and the terror they inspired. Had these constructs had feelings? It seemed Lin thought so. Yet she’d destroyed them.

I wasn’t sure whether or not she was being sincere in her offer to help.

“How much does your leader care about all of you if she insists on sending you to your deaths? You must recognize that this isn’t a true negotiation. She’s trying to intimidate me and wants everyone else –” Lin gestured to the guards standing behind Leaf. “– to think she has made a good faith effort so they’ll be more willing to accept her rule. Of course the deaths aren’t her fault. If only I’d acquiesced, they wouldn’t have been necessary. I assure you, I’m familiar with such tactics. I am the Emperor’s daughter. And now I am Emperor. She’s manipulating all of you to get what she wants. She wants to take my place and she won’t accept anything less, no matter what she loses. No matter who she loses.”