Page 16 of An Empress of Fire & Steel

Taking the dish over to the windowsill, she felt the warmth from the plate heat her hands. It did smell wonderful.

“You love the view, huh?” Naya tipped her head to the side, displaying her graceful neck.

“I do,” Emara said as she took a roasted carrot from underneath the cloth and munched down on it. The buttery vegetable melted in her mouth, and her stomach rumbled. “I didn’t grow up in the city, so this view can sometimes catch my breath.”

“It can still do that for me too,” Naya said softly. “I used to sometimes find myself up on the roof just taking in its beauty with the wind on my face.”

Emara’s eyebrows struggled not to reveal her surprise as she also thought of Torin on top of the tower. “You didn’t grow up in the city?”

“I didn’t.” Naya took a gentle seat beside her. “I grew up north of the Fairlands, in a smaller village than Mossgrave. It was beautiful, all green hills and fresh air. I stayed in a humble cottage with my mother, my father, and Rhea. She’s delighted to have you back here.” She smiled, her lip curling up at the side in a way that reminded her of the Blacksteel boys. “My mother was a healer for a hunting clan close to Helmsbrook city. She was very talented, so she travelled wherever they needed her. That earned us a lot of coin.” Naya’s eyes shone brighter as she spoke of her mother. “My father was human and worked as a woodsman for neighbouring villages, so we knew hard work too. But I loved it in the Fairlands. It was my home. And it wasn’t as complicated as the cities we travelled to.”

The fact that Naya’s father was a human surprised her. However, from the minute she had met Naya, Emara knew she had come from humble beginnings. She was kind and thoughtful, and her own cottage in the Fairlands had been sentimental and homely.

“Why did you leave the Fairlands?” Emara asked as she took a little piece of chicken and forced it down.

“I got married.”

“Oh.” Emara stilled.

“Well, as you can probably speculate, my marriage wasn’t for love.” Naya looked out to the city below her as lamps started to twinkle in the distance.

Emara shook her head, trying to be polite.

“It’s okay, my love, it’s common knowledge in the tower. We have lived separate lives since Kellen was just a babe.” She smiled again, but this time it didn’t reach her eyes. “After I raised my boys, it was time for me to leave this environment, as much as it saddened me.”

Emara wondered how many of those smiles she had shown to her children to hide the pain behind her glittering eyes. The pain of being married to the commander couldn’t have been easy.

“I am sorry for sounding intrusive, but how did you end up married to the commander?” Emara asked.

They were complete opposites, so it was a wonder to her how they had been matched together. Naya was soft and warm, and Viktir was hard and cold.

Naya laughed softly. “Being my mother’s daughter, I developed many of her healing skills. I was one of the best healers in the kingdom, just like her. But I wasn’t born into the bloodline that held any titles. I just happened to be highly regarded within the earth coven, and due to my mother’s social connections, hunting clans started to notice me. The Empress of Earth had already been promised to another clan, one a little larger than the Blacksteels. However, my mother did all she could to see that I married into a worthy bloodline. My mother considered herself a social climber, but I, for one, was never interested in the hierarchy of the magic world. I was happy where I was. I was content with the simple things in life—my garden, my vegetables, and healing anyone who needed aid.” She ran a hand over the hem of her olive-coloured skirt. “But I can see that my mother was coming from a place of good will. We all want the best for our children.” Her voice shook as she spoke, but she quickly gathered her strength. “Just before my alliance with Clan Blacksteel, our little village was raided, and my father was killed in battle. Out of fear, I agreed to my mother’s terms with Viktir’s father. I did it to provide wealth and power for my family and my coven.”

Naya let out a small sigh, her delicate lashes fluttering quickly.

“I knew she wanted protection and strength, and I couldn’t stand my family not having that after my father’s death, so the alliance was set between myself and Viktir. I accepted his proposal. In exchange for my healing and skills, I would gain protection and a family.” She laughed gently. “I say that like I didn’t want those things. Of course, I did, but I didn’t realise how hard it would be to become a mother to warriors.” She rubbed her thumb into the palm of her hand. “And, of course, Viktir Blacksteel’s sons had to be the best Gods-damned warriors known to the kingdom. It’s safe to say that I was naive of how difficult it would be to become a commander’s wife.”

Emara swallowed down fear and gave her a small smile. Hearing Naya talk about Viktir that way somehow made him seem less scary and daunting.

“It wasn’t all bad,” Naya added. “I have three handsome sons. I don't regret my marriage to Viktir.” She beamed as she spoke of her boys. “I count myself lucky every day that they live, and that I have lived to see them grow and dream and become men. I will be thankful to my dying breath for the happiness they have brought me.”

Her grey-blue eyes looked into the distance once more.

Emara swallowed, guessing where Naya’s thoughts had trailed off to. “I can’t imagine living in fear of my husband or child dying in the hunt. Every time that alarm rings, it sends a shudder down my bones. I don’t think I will ever get used to it.”

“I am afraid you must, my darling.” Her gaze caught Emara’s. “Because that is going to become your fate.” The sparkle left Naya’s eyes, and it caused Emara’s stomach to flip. “As the empress of a coven, you will be aligned with a hunter with a respectable status. It is how it has been since the beginning of time; witches marry hunters, Faerie marry into other worthy Fae families, and Shifters mate. Humans sometimes get caught in the crossfire of magical love,” Naya added. “And as the treaty between House Air and Clan Blacksteel stands, it is my first-born son who is promised to the Empress of Air.”

So many thoughts crashed into Emara’s skull.

She almost stumbled over her words. “Surely, it would have been the girl who died that night who was promised to the first-born Blacksteel son. Should it not be Maradia that was promised to Torin?” She looked up at Naya to see that her face had straightened out. “Does that not mean that the alliance died with her?”

Naya shuffled closer, her heavy skirt falling around her legs, and placed a hand over Emara’s. “No, my love. That alliance does not die with her. What Torin said at the Uplift was correct. It still lies with whoever is in line for the crown of Air after her. Maradia was never really the heir of the coven, she did not have the blood of the Clearwaters. She only stood in because you were believed to be gone.”

Emara’s heart jumped into her throat, and her stomach churned like a raging sea.

“As it stands, the magic in your blood ensures that you are destined to be the next Empress of Air. You are the rightful heir to that title.” Naya squeezed her hand.

Emara nodded her head quickly, her mouth drying more with every second. “I know what element lies in my blood.”

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