Of Kings and Killers (Elder Empire Sea #3) - WIll Wight Page 0,119
at him.
In desperation, he tightened his mind, focusing on every word he spoke, hoping the Emperor’s armor would hold up if both women attacked with him in the middle.
“Don’t let the Emperor down.”
He didn’t know if those were the words that got through to her or if Loreli’s healing finally kicked in, but the wild look in Teach’s eyes dimmed. She blinked, looking around the room in confusion.
Calder seized on the moment. “He entrusted the world to us, and we’re failing him.” He hated that there was actually some truth in his words, but he pushed on. “Please. Help us stop the Elders before the Empire falls apart.”
Teach’s muscles loosened. One knee hit the ground, then the other.
She bowed her head.
“Regent,” she said. Her voice rasped with disuse. “Steward. How…long?”
The entire building shook with the crackling overhead, and her silver-and-blue eyes flicked to the window. “Never mind. Situation?”
“Urg’naut took human form and escaped,” Calder told her. “Kelarac is alive and we think he’s coming here. The sky is…wide open.”
Teach closed her eyes. Her expression trembled, but she slowly rose to her feet. She really did seem taller. “Light and life,” she whispered. “Emperor hold and protect us all…”
Then she raised her voice to a shout. “Guards! My armor!”
Loreli gave her a kind smile. “Glad to have you, General. Time is of the essence, so meet us in the throne room as soon as you can. Jorin is already there.”
Calder had more he wanted to say, but the Regent had already taken off down the hallway. He had debated several speeches over the weeks since Teach had passed into her transformative coma, but he settled on the simplest one.
“Thank you for saving my life,” he said.
She grunted. “Try to be worth it.”
Jorin was indeed waiting for them in the Emperor’s throne room, as was most of the Empire’s remaining leadership.
The Regent wasn’t visibly injured from his fight against Urg’naut. He stood at the foot of the throne, his long pocket-filled jacket hanging around him, shadeglasses over his eyes, and wide-brimmed hat providing further shade. But he leaned on a nearby pillar with one hand, and he trembled where he stood.
Cheska Bennett had her red hair tied back in a bandana and she wore clothes that looked like they had been stolen from the poorest deckhand in the Guild, and she gave a one-eyed scowl into the distance. Her other eye was covered by a ragged black eyepatch.
Had she injured it? Lost it? He would ask her later.
Bliss looked like she was in equally bad temper, but her ire was clearly directed toward a person. Her hands were in the pocket of her Blackwatch coat, and she threw a razor-edged stare across the room at Bareius.
The Head of the Alchemist’s Guild seemed…the same as ever. His hair was immaculate, the rims of his glasses polished, and he smiled at no one in particular as he flipped through reports. He was the only one sitting, resting on a stool with his papers sitting on a collapsible table he must have brought himself.
Shera was missing. So was Loreli.
A thought flitted briefly through his mind: Jorin was weakened and unarmed, so once Teach arrived, the Imperialist side would have an overwhelming advantage in combat. If they struck without warning…
The thought didn’t feel like his own, and for one dizzy moment he teetered on the edge of forgetting who he was once more.
This wasn’t the time for infighting. They had a world to save.
He withdrew a wax-paper packet from the satchel that Petal had sent him, pulling out two capsules and popping them into his mouth. Bareius noticed and started to speak, but Jorin beat him to it.
“I can’t say it’s all peaches and roses to see you awake, paper Emperor, but Loreli left you breathing. We are a matter of hours away from being devoured by Elders. If she’s willing to vouch for you, I’m willing to keep you in one piece. So long as you’re pointing your sword in the right direction.”
He eyed all the former Imperialists. “And that goes for all of you.”
Calder forced a broad smile. “Aye, Captain.”
“I don’t stay at the table after I’ve already lost,” Cheska said.
“It is only out of respect for you that I have not turned Nathanael Bareius into a handbag.” Bliss was still glaring at the alchemist. “Do you think he will be useful to us in the coming battle?”