Taming the Wind Read online

  Ashni gave her shoulder a squeeze, bring Nakia back to the now. “Caligo didn’t know what he was doing. Layla’s a master.” The words were meant to comfort, but the chill in Nakia’s blood remained.

  Layla scowled. “You mean the bastard who took her was a Shadow Walker?”

  A Shadow Walker? Is that what they’re called? In all of Nakia’s time seeing Layla fight Ashni, she never saw either of them use their powers. Knowing Layla did what Caligo did made Nakia’s throat burn. She eyed Layla, waiting for her to turn into a monster like Caligo had been.

  “No, he taught himself from stolen texts, but he did it poorly. Honestly, fighting him was like fighting you when you were eleven,” Ashni replied, reaching for apples covered in honey. She used a skewer to pick the fruit up, eating them by the mouthful. She looked at Nakia. “Caligo’s a liar and a thief. He didn’t even know what he was doing with the knowledge he stole.”

  Nakia hated that she must have looked terrified because Layla turned to her with concerned dark eyes. “He wasn’t a true student of Darkness. The night’s part of a natural cycle and should be in balance with the world around it. He clearly used it wrong.”

  It was jarring for Layla to be comforting to her, but Nakia accepted it. Maybe it was because it was easy to see that was the truth. Caligo flaunted his power, used it for terror, and boasted of it. Layla only used her powers in combat and the power came from Layla’s people, so obviously Layla knew what she was talking about. Nakia gave her a small nod.

  Ashni finished off her apples and focused on Layla. “Your powers aren’t infinite. This is why we make battle plans rather just let you Shadow Walkers suck everything into the void and why we don’t let you just summon demons whenever the hell you want to. Now, we need to focus. Adira, do we have reports on the terrain?”

  Adira nodded. “We have plenty on the surrounding area. But, what do you want to do, choose a battlefield that the enemy won’t dare venture into?” She pulled bits of bread off a loaf.

  “Why won’t they?” Nakia asked. All eyes were on her and she expected venom because this information was obvious to them and she was stalling the meeting.

  Ashni shrugged. “It’s easy for them to be defensive. Stay in the city walls and hope we go away. That’s the nature of warfare.”

  “What are you going to do?” Nakia asked.

  “We’ve got siege machines. Hell, we just used them,” Naren said.

  “We don’t have time for that. You had the element of surprise, which is definitely gone for us now. Those siege machines wouldn’t help us to take the city in a day like you did here. I mostly bring them for show, if you haven’t noticed,” Ashni replied.

  Adira shook her head. “No, you bring them because we’ll need them one day. You can’t win every battle by hitting it sometime. You have to be patient.”

  Ashni nuzzled Nakia and kissed her neck. “Adira thinks she’s the only smart one among us. You’ll never get used to the nagging.”

  Adira scoffed. “Oh, please. I expect her help now. Someone else to keep you from being reckless.” She leaned over, fist posed in front of Nakia, who arched an eyebrow.

  “You have to hit her fist with yours or you embarrass us all,” Ashni said.

  Nakia softly tapped her fist against Adira’s knuckles. The simple touch of skin felt like it cemented her in the group as her own person. She wasn’t Ashni’s lover, but Nakia. She was worthwhile on her own and a standalone member of this tightknit crew rather than an addition because of Ashni.

  “This is going to take some getting used to,” Naren said.

  Adira scoffed. “Please, if we can fit you in, we can fit in anyone. Speaking of that, from now on, I’m bringing Hafiz.”

  “Please, don’t,” Layla said.

  “I know he’s reckless with his words, but you all proved you deserve more responsibility. My hope is that the more he interacts with you, the more he realizes he’s putting his foot in his mouth. I mean, he doesn’t say those things when I’m around,” Adira replied. “Now, we have to figure out how to bring the fight to us and how to fight against mobile units with chariots being pulled by Black Dogs. We haven’t done that since I was riding with the Amir.”

  “You used chariots in the desert?” Nakia asked.

  “Not every place we conquered is a desert. The Amir just saw fit to give Ashni the desert part of the Empire,” Adira replied.

  Nakia squinted as she tried to put this together. Why would a caring father give his beloved daughter the desert part of the Empire? Surely there were better bits of land. “Why?”

  Adira shrugged. “It was closest to the water and closest to the West. He knew his daughter, knew her heart. Hell, he even knew us.” She pointed to herself and Layla. “Knew we’d follow her crazy ass across the sea to do to others what had been done to us.”

  “Made you richer than you could’ve imagined? Gave you a beautiful spouse and status beyond your wildest dreams?” Ashni inquired.

  “I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it again in a second if I had to. But, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t fight with tooth and nail when the Roshan showed up in my village again. Just as I’m sure Layla would still fight the Roshan when they showed up for her people,” Adira said.

  “It’s the only way to meet this one.” Layla pointed to Ashni, who was busy studying a map and sipping a bowl of oats.

  “Don’t you regret being conquered?” Nakia asked. It seemed strange to her that conquered people would be Ashni’s closest and fiercest friends. “You lost your homes.” She glanced at Ashni, who didn’t look up from the map. She wasn’t sure what to make of that, like Ashni didn’t mind that she was testing the waters to find out about being conquered by the Roshan. It was like Ashni was confident nothing they said would change Nakia’s mind.

  “The place me and my family live now compared to where we lived in Tariq, well, there isn’t a comparison. My people were outcasts, condemned for generations for embracing the Dark. The Empire didn’t care about that. Hell, it celebrates us. Without the Empire, I wouldn’t have met Naren. Or found my sister.” Layla grinned at Ashni.

  “But, what about the other people?” Nakia asked, shifting back a little on her pillow. “It worked out for you. But, there were hundreds of people who were conquered, I’m sure. Maybe thousands? What happened to them? Or what happens to them?” They made conquest sound so nice and easy and while she would be comfortable with it now, would that last? What of other people?

  Adira took a breath and glanced at Ashni, whose eyes went to another document. “To be honest, I’ve seen Ashni do it the best, and I know she gets it from her father, who had to get it from her mother. They respect all new cultures they come across. It’s different with her brothers. They were with the Amir when he came into my village. Superior attitudes and entitlement. You’ll find it in the Roshan. I still hear it from some, disrespect from them for thinking I’m lower than they are.”

  “I still hear it from damn Hafiz,” Layla said through gritted teeth.

  “And how does that help them?” Nakia asked.

  Ashni grinned and hugged her tight. “Thinking of your people. Nice. I mostly collect taxes and impose Roshan law on places. Other than that, I’m not interested in changing people. Most cultures under my domain remain intact.”

  Nakia tilted her head. “So, you don’t make things better?”

  Ashni gave her a smile. “Well, yes, the Roshan has a lot of social mobility for people. If we didn’t, Naren would’ve died a slave years ago.”

  Naren shook his fist. “I’ll show you slave.”

  Nakia’s eyes went wide and shot to Naren. “You were a slave?” A slave was able to marry the queen’s sister? That was well beyond social mobility.

  Naren waved his hands around. “No, no, no. She’s trying to say I’d have been taken as a slave after the Roshan conquered my people, but I’m capable, even if she wants to act otherwise.”

  “Anyway, I can’t pretend to have all the answers, kitten
. What I do have are the values my parents raised me with, for better for worse. My dad always made sure I understood that individuals, regardless of status, can have purpose, value. The shifting you/I thing again. So, I give everyone a chance.” Ashni shrugged and put down her empty breakfast bowl.

  “Really? So, not gonna give your mother any credit there? Like she isn’t the reason your father thought that?” Layla asked.

  Ashni sneered at her sister. “You can guess which parent my sister favors.”

  “Can we get back on track? This is a battle strategy meeting. We can leave all the other nonsense for when we’re done,” Adira said. “Now, how would you like to do this?”

  “We have to give them a reason to come to us,” Nakia said.

  Ashni kissed her cheek, leaving behind tiny remnants of her breakfast. “You are learning fast. What do you have for me, General?”

  Adira scoffed. “I need to learn the weaknesses of these people. What would get them to leave the city?”

  “Well, the Tyran love their chariots. I remember when my father married my sister off, he wouldn’t stop talking about them. They did a little display at the chariot races to show off. In fact, I think my father got four of them as a wedding present,” Nakia said.

  “Your dad got wedding presents? We’re doing it wrong,” Naren said.

  Ashni cocked an eyebrow at him. “So, we pick a place where they can show off their chariots and frighten us with their mighty Black Dogs. They’ll itch for it.”

  “Yes, and how are we to stop the chariots?” Adira asked.

  Ashni’s mouth dropped open. “You’re a terrible general and spouse. Why hasn’t Saniyah divorced you yet?”

  “You’re not thinking of using that black tar stuff, are you?” Adira frowned.

  “Why wouldn’t I? Saniyah developed it. It could be perfect for this,” Ashni replied. “How could you be married to our best war engineer and this not cross your mind?” Her brow furrowed as she stared at Adira.

  “What if we pretend to ransom your kitten?” Layla said.

  “Excuse you!” Nakia glared at Layla with all the intensity she could muster. There was an explosion of anger in her gut, even if the suggestion wasn’t serious. She wouldn’t be anyone else’s pawn. She also wouldn’t be talked down to anymore. She found where she belonged, and she wasn’t going to be cast aside or pushed around now. She was here to stay.

  “I said pretend,” Layla replied.

  “You will not address me as ‘kitten.’ That is not yours,” Nakia replied. She didn’t care that Ashni called her that, but no one else should. She wouldn’t be mocked by a genuine term of endearment.

  Layla growled and glowered at her sister. “Fine, whatever.” Ashni’s grin was downright diabolical and Layla looked ready to punch her. “I can’t stand you.”

  Nakia’s mouth fell open. I won that battle without a back and forth from Layla? How often will that happen? She doubted it would be a regular thing, but it was good to know Layla respected her enough to back down when something was important to her. I’ll have to remember this.

  “Back to the battle at hand.” Layla shuffled some of the documents before them, but didn’t bother with grabbing any of them. “You know what we could do?”

  “No, which is why we’re having this stupid meeting,” Ashni replied.

  “Instead of using the Shadow Walkers to pull chariots into the void, let us into the city. We start trouble, visibly. They realize we’re like vermin and the only way to get rid of us is to fight you,” Layla said.

  Ashni nodded. “Why do I need you, Adira? Princess comes up with gems like this and takes cities while tweaking plans to make them work even better.”

  “Princess also falls into traps often, bolts off impulsively, and comes with Naren.” Adira rubbed her hands together.

  “Point taken. All right. We’ve got two vague ideas.” Ashni moved a map between them. Nakia was about to witness an actual battle planned out and she couldn’t wait to see.

  Chapter Ten

  ASHNI STOOD ATOP A hill with the setting sun at her back, looking at Valen, a city that would’ve been a target regardless. The population was large, but the economy more so. It had roads cutting through the grasslands of the countryside going out to other cities, but was also by a major river, giving them bountiful farmland, and easy access to sea. She wouldn’t be able to bring the Kairon area to heel without Valen. She wouldn’t be able to finance her march without it either, but this was sooner than she wanted to take it.

  She couldn’t give them a chance to rally more support from other nearby cities. The Tyrans had already showed up. While Dorian didn’t have any more daughters married to kings, he could’ve managed some allies without them. Aid could be on their way now. Worry churned in her gut. None of this was planned. Typically, she could go with the flow, but that was when she was in control of the flow.

  It didn’t help that Ashni still felt her position with the gods was precarious. Yes, she had prayed, lit incenses, made small and grand sacrifices to the gods since getting Nakia back, but there was no way to know it made up for her hubris. It was possible the gods would like to see her fail this day. She’d be humiliated in front of her troops, her little sister, and her beloved.

  But, maybe you’ve been redeemed. The gods hadn’t stood in her way when she went after Nakia, after all. They could’ve had Caligo take Nakia from her, turning her into one of his undead puppets. They could’ve kept Layla from seizing Phyllida. They could’ve done many things to ruin her. But, now, they have a chance to truly destroy me and through a man who thinks he’s better than me by virtue of being a man. She needed to tread carefully, even if the gods were with her. One false move and her army could end up fodder for Black Dogs.

  She couldn’t see the Black Dogs, knowing the Tyrans were off on the other side of the plain setting up for the battle, but reports had come in. The hounds were larger than they expected, the size of workhorses. Teeth that could go through metal with long claws that could do the same and fire spewed from their jaws. That’s a first. Their hides were tough, almost like dragon scales, impenetrable. They were fed human flesh for good measure. The Tyrans had bred these beasts specifically for war and had done a fantastic job.

  “You all right?” Nakia asked as she came up behind Ashni.

  Ashni didn’t turn around. “Didn’t I tell you to stay at camp? It’s bad enough you didn’t want to stay in Phyllida. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “Nothing will happen. I want to be close to you.” Nakia tucked herself in close, wrapping her arms around Ashni’s waist, and Ashni relaxed. She leaned down to kiss Nakia’s forehead.

  “I want you close, too, but this isn’t safe.”

  “Yet you’re out here with no protection.”

  “I am my own protection. I’m unstoppable in the open air. Actually, I’m unstoppable in an enclosed space, too.” And yet, I can’t shake this quiver in my stomach. It’s this attitude that probably has the gods looking down on me with anger. I can’t keep being this way until I’m sure they’re with me again.

  Nakia tightened her grip around Ashni’s waist. “You sound like your sister now. Humble isn’t something you two do well, hmm?”

  “Layla’s a master of complicated magic, but I’m the daughter of a god. Maybe two gods. I’m not sure about my mother sometimes. She’s weird.” Ashni didn’t want to think about her mother right now. She’s going to tease the hell out of me when she meets Nakia and remind us all how I’m so much like my father and how even gods can be defeated with the right talent.

  “What are you doing out here?”

  “I always like to have a good look at a place before I take it.”

  Nakia’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

  “I like to appreciate the view, the scenery before it’s altered and to remind myself why I’m here.”

  “Why are you here? Why the conquest? Just because of your father?”

  Ashni was quiet for a long moment, b
ut Nakia didn’t press her for an answer. She had been asked many times throughout her life why she conquered and she gave many different answers. Nakia deserved more than what she told others. She deserved everything, like Layla, like Adira.

  “Of course, there’s a bit of wanting to be like my father, of wanting to continue his legacy. I was reared on stories of his adventures and always wanted my own. But, my mother, she never let me forget I was destined for greatness. I think one of the things I’m looking for out here is what type of greatness. I used to think it was like my father, but not long after he died, my mother told me that’s not what she meant, but she never explained it. She just said I’d change the world and I’d do it well. I don’t think I’ve changed the world, though. I’ve only seen it.” The land was beautiful, and she wanted to make her mark on it. “This is possibly the only way for people to know me.” She didn’t know any other way to change the world than by making herself known throughout the whole of it.

  Nakia’s brow furrowed. “Is it?”

  Ashni looked at her. “What do you mean?”

  “You seem to bring out things in people. Your sister. The general. Me. Perhaps, we’re better for knowing you and maybe it’s like that for many others.”

  Ashni chuckled. “Those things were already there long before me. Maybe I provide an outlet, but you’re all who you are, regardless of me being here.”

  Nakia smiled at her and Ashni could melt under her gaze. Nakia looked at her like she hung the stars. Am I the same? Everyone knew her feelings for Nakia before she did. She feared she did look at Nakia like she was the most precious thing to walk the planet. Of course, she was. She’d have to learn to school her features, though, because she didn’t want all the world to know how valuable Nakia was, as it was dangerous.

  “What are your goals?” Ashni asked as they started down the hill. She made sure to steer Nakia clear of the stones hidden in the short grass as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon.

  “My what?”

  “Your goals. What do you want from this life?”