Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive #4) - Brandon Sanderson Page 0,186

took me seriously, Brightness, I’d be a married man.” He sighed. “I can’t decide if she thinks me unworthy of her, or if somehow she’s decided a highprince shouldn’t marry someone of her station. When I try to get it out of her, the response is never clear.”

“Could be neither option,” Navani said.

“If that’s the case, I’m at a complete loss.”

The scribe changed the flag outside her workstation. Green for a successful transfer, with a red flag underneath, meaning people were still leaving the other platform and it wasn’t ready for another transfer yet.

Another use for banners, Navani thought. They could at times be more effective than a spanreed. You could look down from the twentieth floor and see a flag much more quickly than you could write out a question and receive a response.

Reputations were banners also. Jasnah had crafted a distinctive persona. People halfway around the world knew about her. Dalinar had done the same thing. Not as deliberately, but with equal effect.

But what banner did Navani want to fly? She turned with Sebarial and walked toward the tower. She’d originally come to the Shattered Plains to chase something new. A different life, one that she wanted rather than one she thought she should want. Yet here she found herself doing the same things as before. Running a kingdom for a man who was too grand to be contained by simple day-to-day tasks.

The love she felt for this man was different, true. Deeper. And there was certainly a fulfilling satisfaction to bringing order to the chaos of a newly born kingdom like Urithiru. It presented unique challenges both logistical and political.

Was it selfish to want something more? This was what she seemed to be good at doing, and it was where the Almighty had placed her. She was one of the most powerful women in the world. Why would she think she deserved more?

Together with Sebarial, she entered the tower by its broad front gates. The temperature change was immediate, though with these broad gates standing open all day, the inner foyer should have been as cold as the plateau outside.

“You want me to return to the warcamps, I assume?” Sebarial asked. “I still have some interests working in the area.”

“Yes. By the time my husband returns, I want those camps fully under our control again.”

“You know,” Sebarial said, “some wouldn’t trust me with such a duty. My vices align well with the delights offered by the region.”

“We’ll see. Of course, if you fail to bring order to the warcamps, then I’ll need to impose martial law. Tragic, wouldn’t you say? Closing down all of those entrepreneurs? Destroying the single place that is under Alethi rule, but which also offers an escape from the strict oversight of the Radiants?

“If only someone with precisely the right mindset would watch the warcamps and make sure they become safe for travelers, and that the nearby lumber operations are proceeding without interruption. Someone who could see the need for law, while also understanding that it’s not a terrible thing to be a little more relaxed. To let good Alethi citizens live their lives safely—but without being under my husband’s direct glare.”

Sebarial laughed. “How much do you suppose I can pocket before Dalinar would find my thieving too blatant?”

“Stay under five percent,” Navani said.

“Four and nine-tenths it is,” Sebarial said, bowing to her. “I’ll be practically respectable, Brightness. Perhaps Palona will finally see that I can be useful, if given the proper motivation.”

“Turi?” Navani said.

“Yes, Brightness?” he asked, rising from the flowery bow.

“If a man takes nothing in his life seriously, it makes a woman wonder. What is she? Another joke? Another whim?”

“Surely she knows her value to me, Brightness.”

“Surely there is no problem in making it clear.” Navani patted him on the arm. “It is difficult not to question your value to someone who seems to value nothing. Sincerity might not come easily for you, but when she finds it in you, she’ll value it even more for the scarcity.”

“Yes … All right. Thank you.”

He waddled off, and Navani watched him go with genuine fondness. That was incredible, considering her former opinion of the man. But he’d stood with them, whether through intent or accident, when most others had refused. Beyond that, she’d found he could be trusted to get things done.

Like everyone, deep down he wanted to be useful. Humans were orderly beings. They liked to see lots of straight lines, if only so—in some cases—they could be the one drawing