From his expression, I knew right away that Aston wasn’t bringing me good news.

That seemed par for the course. Although he was officially my bodyguard, he’d really been acting as my aide for a long time now. Not that I was going to complain about it. I definitely didn’t want to handle everything he did for me myself.

I sat up straighter and gestured for the scientist I was speaking with to wait. He appeared to have been too caught up in our discussion to notice Aston’s arrival, but now he fell silent and watched with apparent curiosity.

“Bad news, I’m afraid, my lady,” Aston said.

I suppressed a sigh. “Of course it is. I think we’ve covered the high points, anyway, Doctor. I’ll let you get back to work.”

I returned his bow with a nod, then stepped away and out into the corridor. Silently, I followed Aston through the building, until we emerged in the courtyard.

“So, what is this about?” I asked. It couldn’t be good if he didn’t want anyone to listen in.

“I’m afraid the army’s efforts to take Cianing City have failed, Your Highness. In fact, it looks like we suffered a major defeat.”

I pulled a face. That would be our first major defeat of the war, or at least this stage of it. “How bad is it?”

“We only have preliminary appreciations so far, but it seems we’ve lost at least a fifth of the elite force.” Aston didn’t look any happier about the news than I did. “We combined several deployments for this operation, so that task force actually represents most of our strength in the south.”

I ran a hand through my hair, scowling at nothing in particular. I knew it could have been worse, but this was already bad enough. We probably still had more remaining elites than the Zarian, but I wouldn’t bet on that, and the reported numbers were probably going to rise.

I wasn’t surprised when Aston led me into the palace proper and turned towards the wing housing our military command. I could already sense Kiyanu there, along with many other strong cultivators.

“Lady Tenira is on her way,” Aston reported. “Do you want me to get Prince Kajare and Lady Yarani, as well?”

I shook my head. “If there’s going to be a larger briefing and meeting later, they should join us then, but it’s probably better to keep the number of attendees down for this one.”

We reached what appeared to be the designated meeting room quickly. The pair of guards outside came to attention and opened the door for us. I nodded at them and entered, pausing for a moment to get my bearings. It was a pretty large conference room, but it still seemed full with the number of people inside, most of them apparently army officers. Kiyanu, Kariva, Gen, and a few other politicians had gathered at the head of the table, though. I quickly made my way to join them. Before I reached the chair they’d apparently left for me, the door opened again and Tenira entered.

I sank into my seat and waited for everyone to settle down. I could tell that no one was feeling particularly optimistic about this meeting. Instead, judging by the glances they shot each other and the furtive, hushed conversations that now trailed off, they probably had a good idea what this was about.

Kiyanu cleared his throat, and everyone fell silent. He let us wait for a moment, sweeping his gaze across the conference table, then spoke. “We have gathered to discuss recent reports from the front. As I understand, our army was defeated outside the city of Cianing. General Tsakan, would you give us a short summary of what happened?”

The old general sat up straighter and cleared his throat. “Of course, my lord.” He gave the sheet of paper in front of him a short glance. “To put it briefly, our forces were trapped between the defenses of the city and a Zarian task force attacking their rear. We had acquired intelligence about the enemy fortifications, wards and shields, and the plan called for the army to use it to partly bypass them. Apparently, this went wrong. It’s not confirmed yet, but I gather that the Zarian altered their wards in anticipation of our attempts. While our army was bogged down trying to take down the qi shield, an enemy force of high-stage soldiers and elites numbering at least two dozen in the seventh stage launched a surprise attack on it. The army had put up defenses to cover their rear, but they were overrun in short order. General Wei led the army through a fighting retreat and fell back to our last secured position in a recently taken town, roughly five leagues towards Niali.”

I leaned back in my chair. That was pretty much what I’d expected. Quietly, I listened as several of the people present asked questions and the news were discussed in more detail. There was nothing particularly surprising about it, although I really didn’t like how badly our alarm wards and defenses had apparently performed.

“It sounds like we’re lucky General Wei got the army out at all,” Tenira said to me in an undertone while they discussed enemy casualty estimates.

I nodded. While I might have mixed feelings about my great-uncle, he’d definitely shown he was a capable general. And we were probably lucky the Zarian had called off the attack, too, although the town’s fortifications would have been much more extensive.

“They’re relying on their elites a lot,” San Hashar noted. She didn’t look nearly as ruffled as many other officers around the table. “That’s very effective against our use of Lighters, since they simply can’t stand up to them. It’s bound to grind away at their elite numbers in the long term, but, of course, that’s mitigated if they can whittle our elites down along with them.”

“It’s an obvious strategy for them, given their teleportation,” I pointed out. “Everything we’ve been able to get indicates that it depends on the number and strength of the cultivators you want to transport. You can think of it like the ‘qi quantity’ of them. But it’s also more effective for less people. Transporting one elite is easier than transporting ten regulars, even if their strength would amount to exactly the same.”

Heads nodded around the table. Most of them probably knew that already, since the memo I’d written on the topic must have been circulated around the army’s brass.

“How far along are we at turning that particular trump card against them?” Kiyanu asked.

I hesitated and exchanged a glance with San Hashar. “We’re making progress,” I answered. “There’s still quite a lot I’d like to get a handle on, but I suppose we have most of it basically operational. We should be able to start implementing it down south, if there’s a pressing need for it.”

“And we could always update our precautions, items, and tactics as time goes on and we make more progress,” the general added. “Although I’d advocate against wide-scale deployment of our countermeasures yet. They still need refinement and testing.”

“We may not have much time to dither,” General Poteri said. “If your devices are useable, we should start using them as soon as possible, before the momentum turns further against us and the Zarian compound our losses.”

I grimaced. A few other officers spoke up, debating the merits of rushing into things versus wasting time on development. I listened silently, keeping my thoughts to myself.

“Clearly, we need to handle this carefully and make decisions based on individual details,” Kiyanu said. “This is probably a task for a smaller panel than this meeting. Inaris, do you feel comfortable with taking the results of your efforts south, in principle?”

I frowned, considering the question for a moment. Then I shrugged slightly. “Principally, yes. We shouldn’t rush things, but at the same time, I think trying to be too cautious can hurt us just as much. The first time we use any of our new toys has to be decisive. We don’t want to give them too much time to adapt. I’d like the first indication they have that something is wrong to be when we catch them in our trap.”

Kiyanu nodded slowly. “That seems ambitious. Of course, this is your project, and I can see the sense in it. I assume you’ll want oversee it personally?”

“Yes. I’ll take a few of my people, as well, including General San.” While I wasn’t looking forward to getting back into the thick of the war, or as thick as it ever got for me, this was something I had to do myself.

The meeting continued for over an hour, discussing various aspects of the battle and refining our strategy for the aftermath. I found it harder than usual to sit still and listen attentively. Instead, my mind kept wanting to turn back to my research and development projects and how I might apply them most effectively in the coming conflict. I forced myself to pay attention to the discussion, knowing this wouldn’t be the only meeting today.

It was a little disconcerting to realize I might actually be looking forward to a battle. Not because I was out for revenge against the Zarian or anything like that, but just because it represented an interesting challenge, matching my mind against their military leaders and my team’s efforts against theirs. Well, it probably helped that I wasn’t particularly concerned about my own personal safety. Still, I’d better not make a habit of that.

It turned out I was right in my predictions. They set up two other meetings I had to attend. The second one was something of a general briefing for everyone who needed to know what had happened and what it could mean, and Kajare and Yarani joined us for that one. Neither of them looked particularly happy about the news, but they didn’t show much surprise, so they must have heard about it in advance.

Once the meeting was done, the gathered people dispersed. I glanced around as I left. Elia and Lei were heading away together. I couldn’t see Elis, but he might be practicing his shapeshifting and passing for one of the many officials and officers around. I’d pulled my qi senses mostly in because of the number of strong presences around, since I didn’t want to get a headache, and he was good at disguising his aura, anyway.

My three partners and I ended up in my suite. Kajare took a seat while Yarani and Tenira helped me pack my things. I could probably leave the more mundane stuff to the servants, but I needed to sort out my research, paperwork, and various weapons, defensive talismans, and other things I might need. We didn’t talk much.

“It’s a bit of a pain to leave again this soon,” Yarani finally said as we were tidying up the last bits and pieces.

“Yes, I’d hoped we had more time here before we went back,” Kajare agreed.

“It was probably a given we’d have to leave if and when things turned south on us.” I settled into an armchair.

“That doesn’t mean we need to be happy about it,” Tenira said. “If nothing else, we have things going on.” She glanced at the others, then smiled slightly. “Although, I happen to know Kajare hasn’t visited the Wei townhouse in weeks.”

I raised an eyebrow, looking at my husband. Our conversation on the subject was only a few weeks ago.

Kajare shrugged. “You’re right, I haven’t.”

“Any particular reason?” Yarani asked casually.

He pulled a face, then sighed and sat back in his chair. “You could say I did some soul-searching and thought about what I really wanted. I suppose I realized that this wouldn’t be worth it.”

I nodded. Sounds like now that he could have what he wanted, he realized that he’d wanted what he wasn’t supposed to have. But I didn’t say anything about that. I was hardly in a position to be throwing stones.

“That’s probably sensible,” Tenira commented. “Not that I’m any expert on the subject.”

“Deciding that nothing could possibly measure up to Nari, anyway?” Yarani asked. She smirked in my general direction.

Kajare looked a little irked, then he chuckled. “Not really, but now that you mention it, there’s something to that.”

“Uh, thanks for the compliment, you two, I guess?” I said. Were they making fun of me?

At my reaction, Yarani’s smirk widened. “It’s true, isn’t it? I mean, I don’t think I’d be very interested in looking for an illicit liaison, since their performance couldn’t compare, anyway, unless they happen to be a powerful spirit-child.”

One of the disadvantages of having skin this fair was that you blushed easily and obviously. I glowered at Yarani, who looked like a cat that got a whole container of cream at my reaction.

“To get back to the actual subject instead of teasing Nari,” Tenira came to my rescue, “do either of you have any pressing tasks that you need to complete before we head south?”

They shook their heads, and Kajare stood up, clearly preparing to go pack his things.

“Actually,” I said. “There is one other thing. Tenira, I think it might be better if you stayed home.”

They paused, and she frowned at me. “Why, Nari? I’m going to be of much more help to you if I’m with you, and I’m not letting you go back to war without me.”

I shook my head. “We need to continue with our research projects, especially with the things we’re putting into use now. I’ll try to get something done, but you know as well as I do that the middle of a war isn’t exactly the best environment for research and development. But I have to go, and so do San Hashar and a few of the others. I need you to stay and keep things going, here.”

Tenira’s frown deepened. She didn’t look happy at that prospect at all. “I understand what you’re saying, but I can’t just let you get back into danger without being there. What if you need me and I’m not there?”

Yarani sighed. “She’s right, Tenira. No offense, but in the war … even without considering the guards, if I can’t help Inaris, you’d just be in the way.”

Tenira made a face. Probably because she knew as well as the rest of us that Yarani was right. “But what if she needs someone with light and darkness affinity qi?” Her tone was just a little petulant.

“Then Lei will be there, and so will several others.”

Tenira sighed, then nodded with obvious unwillingness. “Fine. Alright, I understand. Just come back safely, will you?”

I smiled. “Of course.”

She looked at the others. “That goes for all of you. I have, strangely enough, grown fond of you.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Yarani said with a wink.