The Ranger of Marzanna (The Goddess War #1) - Jon Skovron Page 0,138

for me, Galina?”

“What is that, Sonya?”

“Nobody has actually taken my brother aside and just told him he’s being an asshole, right?”

“I’m not sure I could—”

“No, I don’t think you could, either. So help me think of a way to meet Sebastian face-to-face. No armies, just us. Maybe I can talk some sense into him. Even if I can’t get him to join us, maybe I can at least convince him not to get in our way.”

“If I may speak candidly.” Galina’s somber eyes did not waver as she looked at Sonya. “I have grave doubts it will amount to anything.”

Sonya held her gaze for a moment, then sighed and closed her eyes. “Yeah, but he’s my little brother. I have to at least try.”

54

Ah! Lady Portinari! What a surprise to see you here!” exclaimed General Zaniolo when he came upon Irina sitting on a bench in the small green at the center of Nadezhda Square.

“Yes, General, I am surprised as well,” she said grimly. She decided to keep her hands in their thick fur muffler rather than offering one to him.

He winced. “May I join you?”

“You may.”

Once he sat down next to her, he said in a quieter, less jovial voice, “Apologies for asking you out on such a bitter cold day, my lady.”

“While I enjoy the bustle of Nadezhda Square, I generally do so from the comfort of my balcony with a pot of hot tea.”

“Again, I apologize. There is some urgency in what I need to communicate, and as we both know, it would be unwise for me to be seen making frequent trips to your home. A chance encounter in public seemed less suspicious.”

She sat up a little straighter, but forced herself not to look around. “You think Vittorio’s onto us?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But things are getting… tense, and I don’t think he would need a great deal of concrete evidence to start flinging accusations around at this point. I suspect that the only reason he hasn’t done so already is because he has more pressing concerns.”

“Oh? That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Unfortunately, those concerns pertain to your daughter.”

“Ah.” Irina was not so much surprised as she was disappointed. She had hoped, perhaps naively, that her daughter would slip away into the wilderness and live her strange little Ranger life far from imperial power. Irina had even hoped that years from now, when the fiery and conflicting ideals of her children had cooled, they might all be reunited. “She’s causing more trouble, is she?”

“Trouble hardly covers it,” said the general. “She’s allied herself with the Uaine and somehow helped them cross the tundra in the dead of winter. Since then, they have been attacking the more remote western villages and towns, killing every imperial soldier they can find. At last count, she and her Uaine barbarians have at least five villages under their control.”

“Dear God…,” said Irina.

“The good news is that the Uaine don’t seem to have brought their full force.”

“So the empire should have no trouble driving them back,” said Irina.

“Well, the bad news is that we cannot expect any reinforcements from Magna Alto until late spring at the earliest.”

Irina looked at him in surprise. “None? Why on earth not?”

Zaniolo smiled bitterly. “Izmoroz is hardly Her Imperial Majesty’s top priority. Perhaps you are not aware that the bulk of the empire’s forces are currently engaged in a border dispute with Kante, its neighbor to the east.”

“A border dispute?” asked Irina. “You mean they are attempting to conquer it.”

Zaniolo looked surprised. “When did you gain a moral compass, my lady?”

“I don’t care what the empire does with their neighbors,” said Irina. “But I detest when people employ euphemisms in a pointless attempt to seem more civilized.”

Zaniolo bowed his head. “My apologies. At any rate, if the conquering goes well, we can expect reinforcements to arrive before summer.”

“And if the conquering does not go well?”

“We can expect nothing at all.”

“I see. So what is Vittorio’s plan?”

“He has just ordered all soldiers who were stationed at the remaining towns and villages to return to the garrison. He wants every available soldier here, in case your daughter attempts a direct assault on Gogoleth. Worse comes to worse, we hunker down and try to last until reinforcements arrive.”

Irina closed her eyes, feeling perhaps more tired than she ever had in her life. How had Sonya developed such a knack for getting into trouble?

“Does Sebastian know?” she asked. “About his sister’s involvement?”

“Vittorio is keeping it from him at present. He is… not