Cora stood outside the stinking grate. She held the baton in one hand. The miniature cannon rested on a wooden tray in her other. She stood in truth.
“Sovereign?” The opera glasses were fixed on the cannon. “Is that you? Are you still unblemished?”
“It is I, Coretta Hart, Sovereign of the Unblemished, Duchess of Terndowns.” Cora had found that speaking as though to an interrogator was best. “You may examine me for purity.”
“Right. Yes, uh…” The king struggled to contain his excitement. “Is that it? The weapon?”
Cora swept the tray ahead of her and turned it so the king could view it. She felt as though hanging meat out for a rabid animal. “Yes, my liege.”
“It’s beautiful! It will really do what the generals said the big ones did?”
“It contains a single shot.” She pressed her lips together and walked forward. “It need only be lit. The generals are assembled, waiting for you.”
The opera glasses retreated behind the sheet. “Must I?”
“You may remain here. The demonstration will raise morale.” She turned as if to leave.
“No! I will come.” The opera glasses disappeared. Scrambling from behind the curtains, the voice continued. “Just give me a second.”
Cora stood, waiting. She gave a hint of a smile and then set her jaw.
The grate swung outward and Cora stepped aside. The Dragon emerged, tottering on stained slippers. A robe wrapped around his ample frame and trailed on the floor behind him. His bare chest sagged. “We must go to the war room?”
“The Arilanders have reached the southern gates.” Cora bent her head and spoke to the floor. “Sentries sighted the Nomads galloping in from Fairfield. The generals await your orders. Nothing would please me more than to support your decree.”
The king took a step back into his cave.
Cora held up the tray, luring him.
The king stopped and turned back to her. “It will be inspiring to see our newfound military superiority.” He walked forward and continued, “To think, General Siegfried marches on my own gates.” His eyes slid from the weapon to Cora’s eyes. “I have his book, you know.”
Cora raised her eyebrows and said, “You will have to show me. I’m excited to test my work, though.”
The wall slid away. Cora walked through the painted soldiers and laid the tray with the shining cannon on the table. She laid the baton next to it and pulled her shift dress over her head. Cora had taken to wearing a single piece of clothing to meet with the king.
Ormand crept closer to the cannon. Cora lifted the tray and walked it out of the room, through the doors. She was careful not to get too far ahead of the skittish ruler.
In the dark hallway she held her tinker’s lamp with the same hand as the baton. Spotlighting the cannon, she did not watch her feet as she ascended.
The entry chamber was bustling with soldiers. They paced, staring at the mortared and barred door. None spared a glance for the king or Cora. She took a few steps, waved the tray to catch his eye, and then continued. Halting and starting, step by step, they made their way up the stairs to the war room.
Cora sat the cannon down on a round table in a square stone room.
The assembled faces of the generals turned and stared as they made their entrance. Grey temples, wide eyes and rough stubble. Half rose, then fell to deep bows. A few leaned back, arms crossed.
Cora did not acknowledge any besides the king.
She set the tray on the wide gray table. The king’s face followed it, his robe billowed open behind him.
“My liege!” One of the generals started to talk, the one with the burn scars. “The Arilanders are fighting their way through the southern ranks. The garrison retreats constantly, giving up streets.”
The king put his hands on the table. He was staring at the side of the cannon.
An older general slammed his fist on the table. “We must act! What is the command? Are we parleying with them? Is that why you have emerged?”
The king’s eyes shot up even as his face grew closer to the table. “Is General Siegfried with them? Do you think I’d be able to talk to him?”
The old general took a deep breath. “They are led by a girl. We believe it to be his daughter. She fights with a black sword and leads the front.”
Cora’s eyes widened, but she kept her jaw clenched. She slipped her hand into the pocket of her dress and wrapped her fingers around the fire lighter.
Alexander, this Ellium toy better light the first strike.
A general with black hair stood and said, “The bigger issue is the western front. There will be no negotiating with the Nomads.”
The king’s eyes drifted back to the cannon. “I want one of their swords.”
Cora stood tall and swept her baton over the model. “Gentlemen, I think it is time for a demonstration of our new power.”
King Ormand smiled wide. His chin rested on the edge of the table and his fingers drummed on its surface.
Cora spun the cannon in a complete circle. Every eye watched it. It was inches from the king’s face when she lit the fuse.
I made it as short as I could.
She slammed the baton on the table with her right hand as her thumb was blown off the left. The ball hit the king between his nose and lip. She felt a shard of tooth stick to her cheek. The black ice left a shimmering explosion behind on the table as a plume of smoke rose from the Dragon’s mouth. His body slid to the floor.
The generals were on their feet at once. She raised her left hand to the air and made a fist. Blood rained down on the table. Cora summoned her mother’s voice and announced, “The southern gates will be opened.”
The room erupted into shouts. “Who are you to command us?”
Then a hissing, “Kingslayer.”
Cora whipped her broken baton to point at the man. “I am Coretta Hart, Duchess of Terndowns and Slayer of the Dragon. Sovereign of the Blemished.” She pointed her baton at every man in turn. “And you are the blemished.”
Their shoulders sagged. She knew she had them.
“The gates will be opened. Find me a Nomad translator from amongst the servants. Tell them to ask for a man named Tlaso.” She smiled. “The sky may answer to the name ‘Lissie’.”
Cora knew she had to keep giving orders. Order is what they wanted, and she had ideas. She continued, “Riley Llanarth leads the charge from the south. I will greet her at the drawbridge. The banners of Terndowns and Ariland are to fly alongside the banner of Kalden.”