Starsinger

First Generals

Below the glittering black geode of Ellanoi Palace lay a maze of gaping caverns, geological air bubbles molded deep in the ground by the same immense force that had raised the crystalline towers. Over many generations the kings of the Ko Dynasty had carved tunnels and winding staircases into the earth, connecting the chambers until the undercastle was a dark spiderweb of passages and secret stairs. Though the hallways were wide and the ceilings high enough, in the close, disturbing silence of the underground chambers Aaron could feel the weight of the stone strata above him, pressing down until it felt hard to breathe.

It was here that the First Generals met. The heavy door of the First Office was set deep into the stone of the walls, marked with the Ko dynasty's seal. The rough sphalerite of the narrow hallway swallowed the light of the torches.

Black eyes, swallowing up the light. Aaron shuddered. Could he have imagined it?

The Extra had beaten him there. She leaned against the wall, the sparse light flickering in her blue hair. She glanced up at him and he realized he'd been staring.

"Sorry," Aaron said automatically. He offered her his hand. "It seems we got off on the wrong foot. Aaron Talus, fifth-rank archer."

She eyed his hand a second too long before taking it. "Sapphire. Scout."

"Well met." Chatty, isn't she? He was about to ask what a scout—and an Extra, no less—had been doing in a stealth uniform on solstice when pounding footsteps rang out behind him and Jace hurtled into view.

Jace stopped abruptly. "You too?" he asked Aaron. "Felicity told me what happened, did you..." His eyes narrowed when he saw Sapphire. "Who are you?"

"We were just covering that," Aaron said briskly. There was a bandage wrapped tightly around his friend's shoulder. He frowned, and Jace shrugged.

"Hurts like...well, like a knife to the shoulder, but it's not deep. The dagger wasn't even poisoned." Jace spat. "Sloppy."

Sloppy enough to get a shot at the crown princess. Aaron clenched his teeth. No assassin should ever have gotten so close. And then gotten away.

Iron turned against iron and the door opened. Commander Vance filled the doorway, his long narrow face carved of stone. His grey-green eyes were never warm, but tonight their gaze felt particularly cold. Jace, Aaron and the Extra saluted as one, two fingers pressed to their chests.

"Inside," said Vance.

The office of the First Generals was dark, paneled with thick slabs of wood to absorb the sounds of secret conversations. A map of Zareyma and the surrounding territories was carved deep into an oblong table at the center of the room.

Eight heads swiveled as the soldiers stepped into the room. Aaron knew their faces well. The first-rank generals commanded the kyrsquads, representing each of the eight functions a soldier could be assigned: Strategist, Archer, Striker, Whisperer, Scout, Alchemist, Sapper and Bruiser. Commander Merrin, the First Archer, stared pointedly at Aaron and flicked her gaze to the head of the long table, where King Edmund sat with his hands clasped before him.

Aaron dropped to one knee, Jace and Sapphire a moment behind.

"Your Grace," Jace murmured.

Under a dark cloak, Edmund Ko, the twenty-sixth king of Zareyma, was still wearing his solstice finery. His beard was cropped close to the square line of his jaw. His skin was a pinkish shade of brown like his Piscali ancestors, traders who had landed on Re Vlynn's shores in the wake of the Division and united the northeastern tribes into one realm. The crinkles around his eyes suggested he had once possessed an easy smile, but his mouth wore the expression of a man grown used to being tired. He carried his shoulders like a warrior.