Dream of a Vast Blue Cavern

Chapter 3: Sealed for Siege: Stasia

“Seraph, you will command the fifth battalion, which will be placed in the inner ring of the city.” Krevas’s voice rang out in his spacious throne room. “Lotica and Pasten, you will take the non-fighting citizens to the Burial chambers and protect them there should the city fall. Stasia, you will remain in the Palace under guard until the fighting is over. That takes care of the Royal duties. Now, for the Tanning Guild. We will need even more armor . . .”

Stasia pressed her lips together so hard that they went numb. She was so angry that she could not hear the rest of her father’s words. Every imprisonment, every time Glace had dragged her back from the Outer Tunnels, every restriction seemed to pale before this. She could scarcely even think, she was so angry. All she could do was stare down the long oval table, past her sisters and the Officers and Guildsmen on the War Council, stare at her father as if she could will him to change his mind. 

Krevas’s massive throne, constructed from a cascade of ice that seemed to pour from the tall ceiling, would have made any other man appear small, especially an Icer, but Krevas' presence towered over the table. He had changed from his websilk robes to a fine, dark chirsh ice-armor, and he looked more like a General than Zental, who sat to his right. He was no longer the quiet, considering man he had been in Council. With martial law in effect, he was in charge, moving the meeting along rapidly and effectively. His lined face was implacable; Stasia knew without speaking that he would not be moved. The great crown of Iskalon, its jagged blue diamond spikes emulating ice, sat heavily on his head, digging into the creases on his brow.

Stasia took a deep breath, trying to quiet her anger. Under the table, her twin sister Pasten squeezed her hand in sympathy, and Stasia felt a little better. It was a shame she had not been able to get Larc in; her presence would have been a comfort as well. She took another breath, and though her anger still burned low in her heart, she could focus on the council again. She had to. If, Ancestors forbid, something happened to her father and every one of her sisters, she would need to take charge of the battle.

Maudit, nearly as imposing as their father with her arms folded over her wide bosom, was asking Krevas something about the bridges. She would be Queen after him, and sometimes she acted as if she ruled by his side. Jelina, practically lounging in her chair, leaned toward Zental and whispered to him but broke off at a sharp glance from Casser. Up and down the long table, Officers shifted, exchanging glances that conveyed worry, and scribes pressed furiously into gold plate, recording Krevas’s decrees so that they could be carried out. The Guildsmen fidgeted unless Krevas was addressing them directly, impatient to be getting back to their Guilds and preparing them for the war.

The Guildsmen would all be participating; every able-bodied citizen would, except Stasia. Only she had been relegated to the Palace, denied the thrill and glory of the front lines—of any battle at all. Even Pasten was to be given the important duty of protecting the children and infirm. Stasia would be treated like a delicate sculpture, packed away in the Palace.

“ . . . We are also bringing great vats of water from the lake to the tunnels.” Zental was speaking now, reporting the latest from the scouts. “We will try to drown them out of the fungal caverns. That is where the fighting is heaviest.”

Stasia longed to be there. She was a powerful Icer, fully trained as a warrior. Not letting her fight was simply a bad decision. Speaking out of turn in a private council meeting was foolish, rude, and one of her Father's greatest pet peeves. But she couldn't help herself.

“ . . . Fifty-one reported Icer casualties, but the numbers are coming in on the chime. There is not an accurate count of human casualties yet. The best—”

“Father, may I speak?”

Twenty or so pairs of eyes swiveled to stare at Stasia. Zental looked startled and annoyed. Krevas's blue eyes burned. Stasia took silence for acquiescence and stood.