“But—” he began, almost choking. “But, Majesty. The bridges! How will we defend them without cannon? If the enemy comes against us?”

Queen Estie gave her tone an edge to cut through the man’s dismay. “You will not defend them, Commander. You will destroy them.”

Soulcess gaped like a drowning man. He tried to protest and could not fill his lungs.

More gently, she told him, “The enemy will certainly come. When he has landed his army, he will strike first at the Open Hand. He must. It stands in his path. But when he has razed it, he will want my road. It will give him a direct approach to the Repository. Without it, he will be forced to pass through the whole of Belleger as well as the desert. That journey, he will fight to avoid.

“At any cost, he must be prevented from crossing into Amika. The Line will block him at any other point. For the Repository’s sake, he must not be permitted to use any bridge between the sea in the west and the desert in the east.”

Again, the Chancellor nodded. “It will not be difficult, Majesty. If our stores of grenades and gunpowder do not suffice, we will manage with fire arrows and axes.

“The only question—”

“No, Majesty!” gasped the Commander. “With only thirty men? They are not enough! I will have to conscript—” There he ran out of air.

“I will help you, Commander,” said Sikthorn while his companion struggled. “It will not be difficult, I assure you. And when the bridges are gone, we will be safe. The war will remain in Belleger. King Bifalt will fight it for us.

“The only question,” he repeated to the Queen, “is when. The sooner we begin, the sooner we will finish.”

“That will be difficult,” admitted Estie. “I want you to save as many Bellegerin lives as you can. You must wait until the last moment. Until the enemy is almost upon you. Act then. Only then.

“Begin here.” At Fivebridge, where her road would bring everyone fleeing from the Open Hand and central Belleger. “When that is done, destroy the other crossings at your best speed.

“Your task then, Chancellor, will be to feed and clothe and house and care for thousands of refugees. Your task, Commander, will be to preserve order, to assist the Chancellor, and to watch over Amika.”

Soulcess wore his garbled comprehension and threatened pride like a rictus. He would think that she was turning her back on her realm. That she was fleeing to the sanctuary of the Repository. But she lacked the patience to comfort him. Sikthorn could explain her reasons when Soulcess was ready to hear them. She waited until the Chancellor said like scraping iron, “As you say, Majesty.” Then she left him to deal with his companion’s dismay.

She did not want another bow.