Building an Empire [M/M]

Chapter Fifteen

Siobhan

The chatter in the hall was loud as the present squadron leaders all discussed amongst themselves why they had all suddenly been summoned. Of course, the speculation was that some sort of complication had occurred with the Tournament, but then what could it be? Though it was also entirely possible that this was bad news about the war. So far everything had been going surprisingly smoothly, and the Emperor's vision of uniting all of the island under him looked like it might become reality. I looked around and spotted Mercus chatting calmly with two other squadron leaders that I didn't immediately recognize. One of them nudged him in the side with his elbow while smirking. Mercus shook his head, a small blush rising on his cheeks. It didn't take a genius to figure out what – or more like who – they were teasing him about. And just like that the memories of the night took over my mind. Not like it hadn't been doing so almost constantly this morning. I had woken up just before dawn with a growing panic. There was so much wrong with what I had done that I almost couldn't name all the reasons. Though Alex being a man and so far above me in rank were the major ones. "Watch me..." Alex's voice whispered in my mind just like the real one had last night. But you did more than watch, didn't you? All things holy, what had I done? Unable to deal with panic and guilt – and even worse... the pure relief – over what had happened, I had snuck out of the room and sent another to guard Alex's room. It was cowardly. I knew that. Alex hadn't seemed at all fazed over what we had done. Most likely he was used to such encounters – a thought that didn't sit all too well with me, which was also bad. The smart thing to do was to forget it ever happened and treat Alex like I would any other man.

Just then to my great relief The Eye entered the hall and everybody immediately quieted. "I am sorry for the delay, squadron leaders. I had other matters to attend before I could join you." The old general looked tired and worn as he stood before us. It was no wonder. The Emperor had no talent for war, though he had such grand ideas. Instead it was The Eye who decided everything together with the other generals about how to proceed and which tactics to use. But not only that, besides the war going on he also had to attend and assist The Emperor in all the council meetings and judgements. Anyone would feel the pressure of that after a while and now he also had to plan the Tournament. It was honestly a miracle that he was still as strong as he was.

"As some of you know or may have noticed the Consort has not been well lately, and last night it took a turn for the worse. The healers are worried that the child might not survive, that both of them might not actually survive the ordeal. We have no idea what has caused this illness in her, so we have decided to have all healers in Camion focus on finding a cure. That means that the Tournament should be postponed as there would be no one to see to your injuries, but that is not possible either as we need The Sixth General to join the other nine now." As The Eye spoke the squadron leaders were looking increasingly worried. Did this mean that there would be no winner of the Tournament? Not that the winner was automatically chosen to become general, but at least they were considered. From a practical perspective cancelling the Tournament was probably the smartest option, especially since the general was chosen by the other generals anyway.

"We are cancelling the Tournament. The festivities will be resumed at a later date, but the choosing of the next General must begin now. I have written the other Generals who are out expanding our territory, and we will begin the process of choosing who should join us. As there is no official winner, I declare that the prestige must be shared by the ten of you. I know that you looked forward to proving yourself in the Tournament, but I promise that you will have other opportunities." I looked to Mercus again to see his reaction, like me he was also one of the remaining ten. His expression was a mix of disappointment and relief. I could only guess as to why he would feel either of those things. With his father already a General and him being one of the final ten it was very likely that Mercus would become the next Sixth.