I folded my binoculars and put them away in a pocket, sighing softly as I gazed out over the walls of the town of Bastion. Then I turned around and met Kiyanu’s gaze.

“Something important must have happened if you’re coming to talk to me in person,” I said.

Kiyanu shrugged slightly, glancing down at the courtyard. “I could just be coming to take a look, like you obviously have.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, then looked down as well for a moment. A company of Lighters was drilling on the paved field, and I’d been watching them with interest before I started to check out the countryside.

It was the first batch of new recruits, only released into active service three days ago. They’d arrived here yesterday. Although this base had only been cleared the day before that, it was probably the safest of our outposts close to the front. While the fighting had spread out enough we didn’t really have one army gathered together, the highest concentration of our forces was here, so both Kiyanu and me had come here as well.

“The Lotus Confederation has sent a special envoy to Thousand Lights City,” Kiyanu said.

I raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t what I had expected to hear. “For what?”

“Presumably, the war.” He shrugged. “They haven’t given us a clearer answer, at any rate. But it’s an official envoy, and the delegation is apparently full of relatives to important people of its prominent members.”

I shook my head. “They actually pulled their heads out of their backsides and stopped squabbling long enough to make a move on the international stage? I’d hardly believe it if you hadn’t just told me.”

Kiyanu chuckled. “It’s not that surprising. Their foreign affairs are less of a mess than their internals. Somewhat. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t the only country to show a sharp interest in our situation.”

I frowned, leaning back against the battlements and running a hand through my hair. “We’re on a timetable, aren’t we?”

He nodded, expression serious. “This delegation won’t amount to much, if I’m any judge. They’re probably just trying to get inside information and establish their presence.” He paused, furrowing his brow. “The Confederates are pretty harmless, all things considered. But some of the other nations are a very different matter. The war has shaken things up, still is, and our technological jumps aren’t helping.”

I cocked my head. “So we want to discourage them from trying anything, but without appearing too threatening. Isn’t that the foundation of your strategy, anyway?”

Kiyanu pulled a face. “It is, but there’s only so much we can do to mitigate things, Inaris. At some point, we’ll have to show them that we’re not going to be a problem. And the best way is probably releasing some of our technology.”

I crossed my arms. Despite my general approval of spreading innovation, I didn’t like that idea at all. “That means giving away some of our advantages. We’d need to be in a very good place with the war for that not to be a huge risk.”

While there wasn’t much trade between the large countries of Aran, I didn’t doubt the Zarian would find ways to get their hands on technology we made available. And it wasn’t like some others having shiny new weapons or innovations that would strengthen them and their armies wouldn’t pose a problem, either.

“I know.” He didn’t look any happier about it than I was. “That’s why I’d prefer to wait until we have secured our position. But if the others are too concerned, they might start interfering in the war. Giving aid to the Zarian, overtly or not. Even just increasing trade or getting them mercenaries from their lands could be a big headache for us.”

I nodded. “So, are you going to go talk to them, then?”

“No, this doesn’t need my personal attention. The Chancellor and the elders of your clan should be more than capable of handling it.”

I pushed myself away from the battlements and rolled my shoulders. “There isn’t anything we need from the Confederation, is there?”

“Not really. They have a large population and thus a lot of cultivators. If they want to get in good with us now that our alliance is on the rise, they might shake some of them loose. But I’d rather not push for that as things stand.”

“Then there’s nothing else to say, I guess.”

Kiyanu nodded slowly. He stopped me as I made to leave, though. “Actually, there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you.”

I paused. “Alright, what’s up?”

“How sure are you that you can trust Kariva?”

I blinked. “Uh, pretty sure. Why do you ask? Is something up with her?”

“Not as such.” Kiyanu frowned a little. “But she and her people are consolidating their power, and they’ve been accumulating quite a lot of influence. Obviously, with the war against the traitors, that was only to be expected, and I won’t dismiss their contributions. But Kariva is well placed to do some serious damage if the mood took her. And while she’s always been respectful, I don’t think she feels particularly devoted to me.”

I tapped my fingers against my leg, considering what he was saying, and the way he said it.

“No doubt you’re right,” I finally answered. “But I’m confident of her loyalty to me. She won’t betray us, and I doubt she’s after personal power. If she was, she let the best opportunity she’s likely to get pass her by.”

Kiyanu nodded, but he didn’t seem entirely convinced. “That’s true, but she might still be playing a long game, or simply change her mind at some point. You’re certain of her loyalty to you, Inaris?”

“No one can ever be truly certain of things like that.” I made a dismissive gesture. “I know it’s not personal loyalty. To be honest, I’m not sure she feels that sort of bond to anyone at all. But she’s committed to doing her job, which is protecting her family. Our family. And given what she knows, I’m the best person to lead our clan, and the Empire, in the long term.” I’d never talked to her about that, but I’d pieced things together, and I thought I’d gotten a fairly good picture. Besides, my intuition was pretty clear on the matter.

“Alright.” Kiyanu sighed. “I’ll trust you on this. And I should get back, anyway. There’s still a lot of paperwork to do.”

“Have fun.” I grinned at him and waved, ignoring the look he shot me before he rose into the air to make his way back to the administrative center. I really wasn’t eager to take over his job and deal with all that paperwork.

Which reminded me, I really should get some cultivation time in. Looking around, I gestured at Aston, then took out my flying sword and took off. There was a nice spot on the roof of one of the base’s buildings, where I’d get a lot of sunlight and sharp shadows from the wall on one side. I settled down and started pulling in qi as I sank into a meditative state.

I could feel myself nearing the middle part of the fifth stage. It would probably still take a while, but it was in reach. With a bit of dedicated cultivation, I’d have enough qi to push through. What concerned me more was that I didn’t quite feel ready for it. In previous breakthroughs, it had been easy, almost as simple as barreling through a barrier. But I was closing in on the higher stages, and the requirements were getting steeper. Not just in terms of what qi I needed, but the more ‘metaphysical’ aspects. I thought it had to do with the way the qi was transforming your body and, to some extent, your mind. You needed to guide that somewhat, not just throw more power at the problem.

I hadn’t needed much in the ways of epiphanies previously. Generally, I knew who I was and what I wanted. The breakthrough to the fifth stage might have been the first real hurdle, and the way it happened, with everything that came before it, had given me more than enough impetus, since I had quite a bit of ‘enlightenment’ both in guiding Mother and dealing with my relationship with her. This next part wouldn’t be that difficult, I could tell. Nothing a bit of focused reflection couldn’t manage. But it was a good reminder to keep that sort of thing in mind as I progressed into the higher stages.

After a few hours, I shook those thoughts off, opened my eyes and stood up. The sun was setting now, dyeing the western horizon in shades of orange, and I’d felt the shadows passing over where I sat. The camp was still bustling, if a little less than this morning, and I noticed a few squads traveling back towards it from the countryside.

I jumped down and started walking slowly, taking a look around. Then I looked at Aston. “Do I have anything else on my agenda right now?”

“Not that I know of, Your Highness,” he answered. “I believe you mentioned wanting to work on your weapons projects. There are no meetings scheduled for this evening. Although you also intended to talk to Wei Min, didn’t you?”

I nodded. Now that he mentioned it, I’d planned to check in with him regularly, and it was about time to talk to Wei Min again.

I found him in the corner of the camp that the noble fighters had taken for themselves. Some of them came from clans allied to the Leri or that wanted to prove their loyalty to the Empire, or defend their home, but a few were taken from clans who’d acted against us and were now obligated to make up for it. It didn’t surprise me to find that those were at the edge, with a slightly bigger lane between their tents and the others’ dwellings than usual. The Wei made up the largest group of them by far. Their fighters knelt as soon as they saw me, and I reached the central tent just as Wei Min appeared in the tent flap.

“Your Highness. Please come in. Would you care for refreshments?”

“Cousin Min,” I greeted him quietly as I stepped inside. Everyone here already knew about that, so there was no point in trying to conceal it. “Some tea would be nice. Then I’d like to keep working on cultivation.”

He smiled and gestured to a pair of chairs close to a small table. This tent seemed to be his personal quarters and office in one. I watched as he poured tea and raised an eyebrow as the smell hit me.

“Adzurian black tea?” I asked, as I took a cup. “Nice.” I’d grown fond of it. He must have noticed that I liked it and gone to the trouble of acquiring some. How thoughtful.

Wei Min smiled and ducked his head. “Thank you, my lady.”

We finished our tea quickly and then started talking about cultivation. I’d given him some pointers here and there, but a bit of dedicated time to discussing it and observing his cultivation would be good. Wei Min’s techniques were remarkable blends of destructive and supportive, as you’d expect from his affinities. I knew he was a passable healer, but his real interest lay elsewhere, so I didn’t focus on that. Going your own way was just as important as getting good techniques.

“And how are things going with your family?” I asked. “Did you get any more emotional closure?” He hesitated, so I continued, “You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to. But understanding and dealing with these things is also important for cultivation, and I may be able to offer some guidance, in any case.”

He shook his head. “All due respect, my lady, I don’t think that’s necessary. There’s nothing new, and I’m fairly sure of where I stand and what I should do. If I reach a hurdle in my cultivation, I doubt it will be related to that.”

I regarded him for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, Cousin.” Following an impulse, I stood up. “Let’s go for a stroll. We can continue our conversation while we walk.”

He didn’t object, of course, and I stepped out of his tent, noting that Aston and my guards had taken positions to cover me from possible angles of attack. I didn’t say anything, but started walking at a leisurely pace. I could tell Wei Min was a little tense, but not as much as he would have been before. My attention was more focused on the other Wei. Most of them were at least as strong as me, but I noticed a few presences that were much weaker. And they were quite close. I cocked my head, considering them more deeply. Were there children in the base?

My question answered itself when we came to the next intersection and I took a turn left. There was a bit of a secluded yard between several tents and wooden buildings, and two kids came running right down the path we’d just turned onto. The younger one almost collided with me.

“Cousin Min!” she called out, smiling up at him. Then her gaze moved on to me. She frowned a little. “You seem familiar. Oh, uh, excuse me.”

“That’s the Imperial Princess, Mei,” the other one said. He bowed deeply. “Your Highness. It is an honor to meet you. I am named Wei Jun. This is my sister, Wei Mei.”

My smile froze on my face. While his words were polite, the boy’s tone was tight with strain, the delivery wooden. They also dispelled any doubt about who those kids were. They both resembled their father, Wei Yong, anyway. The girl was probably a little younger than Xiaodan, while the boy looked about twelve.

“It’s good to meet you both,” I said quietly. That was mostly a lie. I could have done without meeting them, even if they were technically my aunt and uncle. And isn’t that weird enough on its own.

The girl looked up at me, a scowl on her face, and I mentally revised my estimate of her age downwards by a year. “You’re the one who took Uncle and got our soldiers killed? I won’t let you take Father! He should be clan head, anyway, not cousin Min! It’s not fair!”

“Mei,” her brother chided, “one doesn’t say such things.”

Which was just about the worst way of reprimanding her, since it clearly implied he didn’t actually disagree. I took a deep breath and tried to think of how to respond.

Before I could, I heard a startled gasp and turned to see an older woman hurry through the yard, reaching us a moment later. I’d have recognized her from a picture in her dossier even without her aura or the children.

“Your Highness.” She knelt down, pushing her children down as well, and bowed her head. “Please forgive the children, Imperial Princess. They didn’t mean anything by it.”

This situation just went from awkward to even more awkward. I cleared my throat. “It’s alright. Please stand. Alco Ilia, I assume?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” She kept her gaze down, but I suspected that was more to stop me from seeing the ice in it than out of deference. She hid it better than her kids, but I could still tell her feelings from her tone, her posture, and even the way she drew in her aura.

Not that I could really blame her. She might have only married Wei Yong after his dalliance with my grandmother, and her children were obviously much younger, but it still couldn’t have been an easy revelation to deal with, especially with the civil war.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said again, although I probably didn’t seem very sincere. “I wasn’t aware you were here. Or the children.”

“They’re only here for a short visit,” Wei Min finally put in. “As Uncle Yong is also here and we’re still a ways from the front, it was judged safe enough.”

I nodded. I’d been distantly aware of Wei Yong’s visit, although he kept his presence veiled so well that I couldn’t sense him, and it had mostly slipped my mind.

“Well, perhaps we will get to meet for a little longer at some point,” I said. “I won’t keep you.”

I stepped around them, Wei Min on my heels. She breathed a sigh of relief, which I pretended not to notice. We quickly left them behind us, but my shoulders only relaxed their tension a few minutes later.

It had given me food for thought, anyway. If even the kids were talking like that, Wei Min’s position was probably less assured than I’d hoped. But that was why I was here. So I turned my thoughts back to cultivation and resumed the conversation with Wei Min. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help searching for my grandfather, though, and I made sure we stayed well clear of him.