“This is the most complicated piece of formation work I have ever seen, my lady. Few talismans channel that much qi, and they probably invented several completely new patterns.” San Hashar smiled. “It shouldn’t be a problem.”

I returned her smile as she took a step away from the table with the Basement’s gift on it. One of the main reasons I’d decided to come back was to get it to a good team for analysis. San Hashar had just arrived from the Earth Continent, as well, and I hadn’t hesitated to involve her. She might not have much more than a basic understanding of formations, but she was one of the people who knew the most about spatial qi. She had the most practical experience, certainly.

“That’s good,” I said. “I agree that compared to this, our own modest efforts look like a child’s doodles. But I see no reason we shouldn’t be able to figure it out.”

She nodded. “It’s not going to be quick, my lady. But I’m sure we’ll be able to get something from it. Maybe we’ll even be able to reverse-engineer it in time.”

“Actually, right now I’m thinking I’d like to be able to design a method to stabilize space in a location and block them from teleporting in,” I said. “And maybe getting a way to divert one of their transits, if that’s possible.”

San Hashar leaned against the wall, frowning thoughtfully. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes and instead gestured invitingly at one of the several chairs standing in the room, while I took a seat in another one. She waited until I’d sat before taking her own chair.

From outside, muted conversations floated in, though we were alone in the room for the moment. Tenira had gone to check on another project, but would be back shortly. The lab seemed a little less lively than before the war, but if I focused on it, I could still sense the qi of the researchers and some of the things they were working on spread throughout the building. The sun shone through the windows, which offered a glimpse of the courtyard beside the lab. It was currently empty.

“I can see where that would be extremely useful,” she said. “The Zarian would probably catch on quickly, but if we could divert at least one of their major strikes into a trap …” She shook her head. “And it would force them to be more careful about deploying them, restricting their tactics.”

“Right,” I agreed. “We might not even need something like that for an effective trap, though baiting them into one would be tricky.”

San Hashar nodded thoughtfully. “I couldn’t help but notice that we’ve accelerated production on chemical explosives. Not just grenades for the Lighters, but others.”

“Like landmines, yes.” I ran a hand through my hair.

Since the start of the war, my own R&D efforts, and many others, had shifted considerably. That was annoying, of course, but I’d discovered that I could easily roll with it. Designing landmines was about as fun as designing telephone poles, even if I found that a little troubling when I reflected on it. I guess I’m mostly bothered that I’m not really bothered. Which doesn’t make much sense, and I probably shouldn’t worry about it.

“I don’t think they’re going to be all that effective against Zarian soldiers, especially those in the higher stages,” San Hashar warned. “Qi-based ones would probably be more effective.”

“I know, but they’re going to be less easily detected, aren’t they?”

“It’s relatively common for operations teams to have at least one member who can check the ground, my lady,” she said, then frowned. “Or, at least, it used to be. I suppose there’s not much in the way of that happening in the current war. It does have different parameters from earlier conflicts. But there’ll still be cultivators with very good senses, who might be able to pick up any traps, unless they’re buried deeply enough that it will make them less effective. But I suppose it’s a different matter when they use spatial transfers.”

I nodded. “That was my thought, too. They almost certainly can’t check the ground before they transit, or at least not very well. They’ll have to jump in without being able to sense those sorts of traps.”

She smiled. “Combined with a few other tricks, I think that could make for a very nasty surprise.”

I certainly hoped so. But we had quite a lot of work ahead of us if we wanted to make that happen.

A knock on the door interrupted my musings. I turned to see Lei opening the door.

“Sorry to bother you,” he said. “Inaris, you said you wanted to know when Kajare arrived. It seems he just returned. He’s in the main building, according to Li.”

“Oh, good. Thanks.” I looked at San Hashar. “I think we were just about finished here, anyway. Feel free to set up and get with the other members of the team.”

“Of course, my lady.”

My thoughts were already turning to my husband as I left the room and hurried out of the lab building, greeting the people I met in the corridors with absent nods. Aston wasn’t on duty at the moment, but my current guards fell in around me. We quickly made our way up to the main building, and I headed for where I could sense my husband, in his private quarters. The guards peeled off to stand watch outside while I knocked.

“Come in,” he called.

I entered to find Kajare rising from a comfortable armchair, his outer robe draped across another chair’s back and his shoes kicked off to the side.

“Nari.” He smiled and extended his arms, but there was a question in his eyes. “It’s good to see you. You must have missed me more than I thought.”

I returned his smile, reciprocated the hug, and gave him a quick kiss. Then I stepped back and settled into one of the chairs, waiting until he sat down again, as well.

“I know you weren’t gone that long, Kajare,” I said. “But it seems there’s a few things we should talk about.”

His face tightened. Of course, no one would be happy to hear a ‘we should talk’ from their partner. “Has something happened?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Not really, this is more about what happened before you left. And before I say anything else, just to be clear, I’m not accusing you of anything. But I’ve been approached by someone because they were concerned about your actions, and how they might be perceived. So I thought we should talk it out and decide how to handle it.”

He nodded slowly. Judging by his expression, he suspected where this was going. “Of course.”

“Apparently, you’ve been visiting the Wei,” I continued. “And you’ve spent a lot of time with a girl from that clan, a Wei Shu. Enough to attract notice, it seems.”

Kajare shook his head. “This is from Wei Min, isn’t it?”

I shrugged, not answering the question. “Is there anything to these suspicions?” I noticed his face tightening and raised a hand. “I’m not angry, Kajare. I’m certainly not going to rip your head off, literally or otherwise, even if there is.” I paused. “But I do want you to be honest with me.”

He looked at me in silence for a few seconds, clearly considering his answer. Finally, his shoulders relaxed a little and he sank backwards into his chair. “Yes and no, Nari,” he said. “I’m not particularly interested in Wei Shu. If anything, I was using her as a cover for her brother, Wei Qiang.”

I sat up straighter in surprise and raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were interested in men,” I commented, keeping my tone light.

He pulled a face and shrugged. “Well, I’ve had a little experience being with other men, back home,” he acknowledged. “But I prefer women. Pretty conclusively, or so I would have said until recently.”

That didn’t really surprise me, and I’d even suspected he was less than completely straight. But it didn’t matter much at the moment. “So you tried to hide that with the help of his sister?” I couldn’t help but sound dubious. This didn’t make much sense to me.

“You know as well as I do that the idea of two men together is still less accepted than a traditional couple in the Empire, or even two women, even if it’s not as bad as in Terbekteri.” He shrugged. “Well, she’s beautiful and charming. I figured it wouldn’t really seem strange if I were to be a little taken by her.”

I frowned. This was all well and good, but I still felt a spot of cold tension inside me that kept growing while we talked. “And what did you actually do?” I asked.

He met my gaze as calmly as he probably could under the circumstances. “Nothing happened, Inaris. Not like that.” He hesitated, then admitted, “Well, we did kiss.”

I didn’t like the idea of him kissing someone else, I discovered, but it wasn’t exactly a vehement reaction, at least. I felt more annoyed than affronted.

I sighed. “Okay. Thanks for being honest about it. We still need to decide what happens now.”

“I didn’t expect it to blow up like this,” he admitted after a moment. “I didn’t think people would be this touchy about what I might do. I mean, it’s not like anyone saw me actually do anything untoward with Wei Shu. Sure, we were together in relative privacy a few times, but still … “

Oh, come on. I snorted. “And how would you expect Salira to react in a situation like this?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

“You’re in a woman’s position now, Kajare,” I said more gently. “Or what’s traditionally one, anyway.”

“I didn’t think I was that sexist.” He smiled wryly and shook his head.

“You’re not that sexist,” I assured him. I shrugged. “You’re thinking like a Terbekteri prince instead of an Imperial consort.”

He nodded, a bit glumly. We fell silent. After a moment, I caught him muttering to himself. “This is rubbish. It’s not …” He trailed off.

“Fair?” I asked. “It’s not fair that supposedly I can have several partners but you can’t?”

There was another moment of silence, more fraught this time. He pulled a face. “I didn’t mean it like that, Nari.”

“I thought you didn’t have a problem with my consorts.”

“I don’t, really.” He shrugged. “I like them. I don’t have a problem with you being with them. I just, I don’t know, I don’t like being someone whose lady has other consorts?”

So he was okay with it personally, but didn’t like it in terms of status, in a social sense? I supposed that’s fair enough. I let the silence drag on for a bit, considering what to do, how I felt.

“Our marriage vows didn’t stipulate faithfulness,” I finally said.

“I know.” Kajare frowned. “I knew what I was getting into, Inaris. I’m not complaining about that.”

I sighed again, running a hand through my hair. I really wished I could avoid this entire conversation, but unfortunately, just up and leaving wouldn’t take care of the problem. And it was pretty clear I couldn’t just ignore this issue.

“I can’t pretend I wouldn’t be jealous,” I said after a moment. “I’m already feeling a little annoyed. But I could get used to it. I suppose, if you really want to be with this Wei Qiang, I’m not going to stop you. As long as you’re careful.”

His eyes widened a little. “Really? You’d be alright with it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t like it, but still. I want you to be happy more than I want to keep you for myself, or to avert any possible scandal.”

He sat back in his chair, just looking at me for a second. Then he shook his head. “I’m not sure what to say, Nari.” His lips twisted slightly. “Or what to do, actually.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” I smiled again, trying not to show how less than pleased I was by this whole thing. “Just don’t sneak around and make trouble behind my back.”

He chuckled. “Oh, I assure you you don’t need to worry about that!” Then his expression turned serious again. “You’ve given me quite a bit to think about, Nari.”

I stood up, sensing that the conversation was at its end. “I’ve heard somewhere that thinking is supposed to be good for you. I’ll see you around, Kajare.”

“Of course, Nari.”

Once I left the room, I took a deep breath and folded my hands as I started walking. Maybe I hadn’t realized quite how much I actually cared about Kajare. I’d known it was more than that, but I definitely wouldn’t be feeling like this if it was still only friendship and occasional fun between us. Well, that’s probably a good thing, given that we’re married and all. I snorted, smiling to myself.

I shook my head and decided to go back to the lab. I still had other meetings to go to later, but I had enough time to get a bit of work done. Although, later I’d drop by AIki Ilia and see what information she could give me on the situation in the Wei clan. The more I understood about it, the better.

And maybe I should talk to Gen, as well, and let him know the situation was being handled. I’d never really liked the man. We seemed to have gotten off on the wrong foot when Mother was in closed cultivation, but he had acted pretty decently in this case. I should try to cultivate a good relationship with him, anyway.

I sighed and ran hand through my hair, absentmindedly nodding at the people getting out of my way. When did my life get so complicated?