Defiance (Rise of the Iliri Book 3) (47 page)

Sal flicked her ears forward and knelt before him.  "You're very important, Prince Jarl, heir to the throne of Anglia.  I need you to make sure my people stay safe."

"Really?" he asked.

Sal rested a hand on his knee.  "Really.  And I'm serious.  I really
am
counting on you to take care of the iliri.  That's the only reason I won't take you with me.  You're more important here."

He looked down at their white skin against his dark green pants.  The colors nearly matched the country's new flag.  "I promise, Kaisae.  I swear it, ok?"

"Ok.  And take care of the big lug for me?  Well, both of them, your uncle and your father."  Jarl nodded.  Sal stood and snapped a Conglomerate salute.  Then she turned, walking quietly from the hall without daring to look back.  Ilija saw her head for the door and raised his glass. 

"I'd like to make a toast," he called out, pulling Vanica to his side.  "To friends and family.  May we all stay safe and healthy and love every day as much as we did when we were young.  May our children inherit happiness, and our legacies live well beyond us.  May we learn that being Anglian is about more than where we were born, or what kind of parents we have.  Here's to the country the Kaisae made right."

No one noticed that there wasn't a black uniform in the room.

Epilogue

The rain had finally stopped, but all of their gear was soaked.  The campsite was made in a cluster of large flat rocks jutting from the foothills.  Sheltered from the wind, the grauori made a fire and the Blades hoped it would be enough to get dry.  As twilight colored the sky, the heat leached into the stones and the bones of the iliri lounging across them.  Sal lay with her head on Blaec's shoulder and Jase's head on her stomach.  Blaec traced lines along her arm.  Jase held her hand against his heart.  Together they listened to the sounds of Hwa hunting in the distance.

Arctic's soft footfalls made Sal crack open her eyes.  He lowered himself beside them.  "You three keep getting more and more comfortable."

"It works," Blaec said.

Arctic chuckled.  "Yeah.  A year ago, I wasn't sure it would.  You're the most unlikely trio I could've imagined.  A leader, an outcast, and a homicidal maniac.  No offense, Cyno."

"None taken, Raewar."

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you three about.  We're getting worse."

Sal shrugged.  "That's not the word I'd use."

Arctic sat by her ankles.  "Well, it's the only one I have.  Any of you know why?"

I do,
Roo said from beside the fire. 
And yes, my ears can hear you from over here.

"Ok," Arctic said.  "Why?"

It's the smell of Sal.  Dominant females give off a scent that causes men to submit and bond to them.  It's just how it is.

"And you don't do this?" Sal asked.

No, I am rafrezzi.  Only some females do it.  It is why you like some and do not like others when you first meet them.  The scent is not a smell, it's a thought.

"Pheromones," Jase said.  "Yeh, we got studied a while back.  Something 'bout iliri sweat being an aphrodisiac."

"Ya gotta stay away from the books, Cyno," Blaec teased.  "What kind of respectable assassin reads as much as you?"

Sal snuggled closer to her men.  "Not me.  I never seem to find the time."

"If you stayed out of their beds a bit more, ya might," Arctic told her.

Sal just shrugged, tracing the line of Blaec's chest with her hand.  "I
'
m good with it."

"Hey, Sal?" Zep called to her from the pack mules, interrupting.

"Yeah?"

Arctic looked up, and Zep tossed something at him.  "Give that to Sal," he yelled.  "I'm betting it's for her."

He handed Sal a resin tube labeled with the new insignia of Anglia.  Cracking the seal, she pulled the papers from inside, glancing over them.  She patted, Jase's shoulder, and when he shifted, she sat up.

"Maast," she whispered.

"What is it?" Jase asked.

She held up her hand and continued reading.  Zep walked over, opened his mouth to speak, but Arctic stopped him.  When Sal finally looked up at them, her pale eyes wide, Zep didn't give her the chance to say anything.

"There's this, too."  He held out a steel knife.

Her ears twitched for a second before she reached behind her, pulling her blade from its sheath.  The two weapons were nearly a perfect match.  Behind her, Blaec sat up.

"What the fuck?"

Audgan held his hands out in a silent request to see the blades.  "Where'd you get the first one, Sal?"

"Chancellor in Escea.  Why?"

"Look," he said, turning the hilts to Sal.  Stamped clearly in each was the same symbol: five rings, each surrounding the other, and an odd grouping of indentations.  In a semi-circle around it was a line of V-shaped markings nearly touching.  "They're
exactly
the same."

"I always thought that was the maker's mark," she said.  "Could the Archduke have gotten his from the same place?"

"I suppose," Blaec said.  "Not that many people work steel anymore, but I don't know what would be able to stamp it like that.  It looks carved, but they're identical.  Even the blotches."

"Oh, it gets better," she said, holding up the letter.  Then she began to read. 

"
Dear Salryc Luxx, Kaisae of the iliri, citizen of Anglia, and honored leader of the Anglian military.  I kept my word to you, but I forgot to mention that we'd already set plans in motion before you came to speak to me.  Dom and I
-"  Sal looked up.  "It's written by Ilija," she said before continuing.  "
Dom and I believe we've found the solution to your problem.  We both know that you iliri are too proud to know when you're beat, so think of this more as an alliance
."  The men around her chuckled.

"
Anglia has received word from Viraenova.  The leaders of that elusive country applaud our efforts to combine our three kingdoms – human, iliri, and grauori – into one.  According to Rragri, they were hesitant to believe we had given control of our military to a Kaisae.  Not because of the usual reasons, either.  Seems there aren't any purebred females to qualify.  Rragri had to talk to their leader personally, to insist that you smelled like the real thing.  I hope that makes sense to you because it doesn't to me.  Anyway, evidently it's a big deal.  The Viraenovan leader said you must be the last
."

"Damn," Geo breathed.  "I knew there weren't many, but the last pure female?"

"Terric killed the rest," Blaec told him.  "Rather systematically."

Sal tapped the page, pulling their attention back.  "
As a sign of their support, Viraenova will help us relocate iliri and educate the humans across the continent.  Because that country never signed any of the treaties of war, they're exempt from those restrictions on their actions.  The grauori are also an independent people.  They simply share a territory with the humans of Anglia, and as such, are not held to the laws of humans.
"

"He has a point," Zep said. 

Sal nodded and continued.  "
We have shared our experiences with them, and told them of your plans to eradicate any threat to our iliri citizens.  Rragri has promised to send one thousand troops – she calls them maargra – to stand beside you, and Viraenova will attend the meeting of the Alliance with at least a thousand.  They admitted to more if they deem that the situation affects their people.  Dominik and the Anglian army will be heading out in two weeks.  We should arrive no more than a month after you.  I hope for your sake that the trial is over, but if it is not, I'll do my best to keep my promise to you.
"

"What's that about," Blaec asked.

Sal sighed.  "He knows about the assassinations.  If they court-martial me, it'll all come out, and if Dom's there..." Sal let the sentence hang.

"Yeah," Arctic agreed.  "That could cause problems.  Go on, Sal."

"Ok," she picked up the letter again.  "
Dom finally got his legislation passed to make women equal to men.  He's tickled with himself, and I seem to have a few thousand female soldiers in my army.  I'm hoping that Nica agrees to marry me tonight
," Sal chuckled.  "So he wrote this before the ceremony." 

"Well, we know how that part ends," Zep chuckled.

"
Either way,
" Sal kept reading, "
Jarl will become heir to Anglia.  Dom said that he's going to make the grauori Orassae and you equal rulers in Anglia, but I explained to him that he must be careful about giving you anything in public for now.  He said he could work around that
."

"So that's what the whole reserving Kaisae thing was about," Shift said from behind them.

Sal nodded.  "
It was Vanja who figured it out, Sal
," she continued.  "
He realized that if we claim you and your people, it gives us justification to stand beside you.  The Black Blades
will
return to Anglia.  We're not going to give you up that easy.  Included with this letter is a copy of the deed to your new home.  When the young lady arrives in the summer, I'll have her put in charge of the keep and given the resources necessary to make Arhhawen renown across the world for your horses.  Dominik has already declared that the Terran iliri will pay for their relocation with work in preparing the structure for your needs, including a triple suite!
" 

Jase was reading over her shoulder and laughed.  "He put an exclamation point on tha'."

Blaec chuckled.  "At least we know it won't get too crowded."

"Shit," Arctic said.  "The way you three have been lately, I won't be shocked to find you all in the same bed."

Sal giggled when the men shook their heads in unison.

"Give it a month," Zep teased.

"Let her finish," Audgan insisted, moving closer to the rock.

Sal cleared her throat and kept going.  "
Sal, this is only a copy.  The deed to your new home is on file in Dorton.  We know that proof of this could cause complications for you, and Dom didn't trust you not to burn it
."  She smiled as she handed the copy to Arctic.  "
I'm sending the Shields ahead of the army and will be using the grauori to guard the rulers – we need a good word for that – so keep an eye out for them.  They'll be in the CFC base in plain clothes but authorized to do whatever is necessary to delay or disrupt anything that would cause harm to a citizen of Anglia.

"
I also included a gift for you in your packs.  I hope you find it before you reach a town but somehow, with your noses, I think it won't hide for long.  The Archduke of Terric had all of his weapons removed when he was detained with us.  Imagine Dominik's surprise when he carried a blade that was nearly a perfect match to yours.  I know about Jarl's dagger, Sal.  I know what it means too, and I told Dom.  We agreed that if you're willing to give our boy a pass, it's worth at least a kilo of steel.  Besides, you need a new offhand weapon, and every good soldier knows that it's easier to work with a matched set.  Give it away, keep it, or sell it.  The steel is yours, Kaisae.  It's nothing in comparison to what you gave to us.

"
The Black Blades stood behind Anglia when Anglia needed it.  Now, it's our turn to pay it back.  Watch your backs and stay a pack.  Bite the Ahnor for me, since I hear he likes it like that, and make sure LT knows how much I appreciate his advice.  Kiss the pups and enjoy Roo's cooking.  We'll see you in Myrosica, and we're going to do this the right way.  Stay strong, Sal.  Conglomerate ranks mean nothing.  You're iliri, and you'll always be the Kaisae
."

Sal sighed.  "It's signed '
With all my respect, Ilija Vayu, a soldier's son
.'  I wonder if Dom told him he'd be a Marquis before the night was out."

"Prolly na," Jase said.  "Dom likes ta show off almost as much as LT."

"So does this change anything?" Geo asked.

Blaec nodded.  "Yeah, man.  It changes pretty much everything."  As his shoulders relaxed, he smiled.  "I can't believe they found a solution.  The damned humans found a way around the human laws!"

Sal leaned against Blaec with a pleased murmur.  He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.

"LT, I'm not a tactical genius.  You know that's where I took the shit kicking in my trial.  Spell it out," Geo persisted.

"Ok.  Anglia can't invade Terric without causing a lot of problems.  The first being the repercussions of becoming a conquering nation.  Anglia takes Terric, Escea tries to take Anglia, and it becomes a vicious cycle.  We did this a few centuries ago.  There's some international treaties about it, and the economic repercussions would kill them."

"Us," Zep grinned.

Blaec nodded.  "So, since Viraenova has always stayed out of things, they never signed the treaties.  They also don't get involved in most wars.  Anyone that's tried to invade Viraenova has been met with stone walls and silence.  That place is its own world.  They barely contact anyone outside their borders, and the country is bordered by the ocean, two massive rivers, the mountains, and a small section of flat land between them and Myrosica.  The few kilometers – it's less than a hundred – well, they built a wall.  Each gate is manned with pale skinned soldiers.  They sound a lot like Risk, to be honest, but you know how stories are."