turning from the stove to beam at us, his own anticipation for the treat far greater than our own.
“She certainly has no fear of command if that’s what you mean,” I replied. “She has every expectation of being obeyed. It’s overwhelming frankly.”
“Well, you’ve done your share, Highness, and that’s worth remembering,” Gonnaban said. “But no, ma’am, I’ll think I’ll hang about out here. Let her run as long as she will and we’ll see where she’ll go, what tricks she’s yet to unfold.”
I nodded and hid my disappointment. I would be going back alone and had to remember my bloodline and my duty or fail both.
Esmir was seated when I returned. She had refilled her glass while I was gone and her eyes followed me coolly as she lifted wine to her lips. Her face, serene, calm, at peace, lacked only the hardness, the resolve, of my father’s Mask Imperial, but it remained inscrutable nonetheless. We could be discussing the turns of the weather for all the anguish her countenance showed, our two opposing armies forgotten.
“I know I’ve given you a great deal to take in, General,” she said as I seated myself across the war table from her. “We have hardly acted as the most respectful guests.”
My outrage returned unbidden and I was glad for the strength it lent me.
“Your forwardness exceeds anything in living memory, Your Highness,” I said. “I cannot think how you hope to succeed.”
Her face remained unchanged, an infuriating barrier that offered no aggression, no defiance, only an implacable confidence ready to turn aside anything that delayed or derailed her goal. I longed for Eric’s advice as I gazed on her glacial demeanor. What tic in a cheek or turn of a smile could he read that would betray my adversary’s real intent? Like a hunter tracking some quarry, Eric perceived signs in his opponent that led my brother directly to his opponent’s real goal, allowing Eric to flush the matter into the open. Kollus, too, had some skill, though he often relied on humor to lull those across the table from him. I read the face of war so much more easily than that of a person seeking compromise and I did not know if I should be ashamed.
“I do not hope, General. My kingdom must continue, even if it is to be subsumed within yours. I proceed upon the strength of history,” Esmir replied. “My kingdom has lasted 1,400 years and it will not end now, not even the little part still under my rule.” She motioned to my glass. “You have not touched your wine.” She smiled softly. “And do not hesitate to call me Esmir. We have been through too much to pretend no familiarity.”
“I hardly think familiarity is a word we can use, least of all between us,” I said, more coldly than I intended.
“I have explained my ruse, child, though I do not apologize for it,” Esmir said coolly. “Who would we meet when we found some land capable of supporting us? A tyrant? A fool? But fate brought us here and at the foot of the craftiest strategist all of Damendine has ever known. But now I know it and have watched you spar with my sons—”
“And chatted amiably with me,” I said.
“Yes,” she said, evenly. “You chatted with poor Esmir, servant of princes. Do not feel completely deceived, my dear, for I remain their servant just as you are a servant to your own kingdom, your own people. And whatever you think of my tactics, I think you understand their goal very, very deeply.”
She took a long sip of her wine and gazed at the wall of the tent.
“You know,” she said, “before we set sail I had eight casks and forty bottles of this vintage. It was produced in my great-grandfather’s vineyards in the northern hills, our family home overlooking row upon row of the very vines I played in as a child. Now, on some foreign land, I have less than twenty bottles left, and after that I’ll have only the memories of my palate and a litter of empty bottles and stained barrels.”
“What drove you from such happy memories?” I challenged. “What great calamity in your land permitted you to set sail with not only warriors but wine? A peaceful change of regimes is rarer than your wine, I daresay. What brought you here, Esmir?”
“What you really mean to ask is why am I not dead on some battlefield, yes?” Esmir postulated. “How can