Her anger, so useful just moments before, was getting the better of her now. She could hear it; she was too loud. Nira had counseled her again and again on the importance of holding her tongue and her peace. Ironic, given the source, but good advice all the same.

If you intend to heal the breach,” she went on, “as you claim. If you intend to abide by the treaty we have both signed, then I am the Emperor, Annur’s Emperor, and your Emperor, and you will address me properly.”“I’ve always found that those most insistent on their titles,” Moss replied, “are those least deserving of them.

This is what we are for, Alin,” the older guardsman said, turning to his companion. Adare had never heard anyone use Birch’s first name. She hadn’t even known it herself. “Our lives for hers. If she refuses this, there’s no saying what the zealots will do to her.”“There’s no saying what the zealots will do if she agrees,” Birch pointed out. “We can’t save her if we’re dead.”“That is a risk that the princess will have to assess for herself. Our duty is to serve.”“I thought service meant fighting,” Birch protested, but the anger had gone out of him. Resignation thinned his voice.“Sometimes, Alin,” Fulton replied, nodding. “And sometimes it means dying.