Moments later three great horn blasts sounded, followed by a space, and then three more. The sound reverberated through the city, and for a moment the crowd stilled, before once more surging at the gates to the Imperial Palace.
Soon, Rogan knew, the army would arrive. Men bearing the new insignia of the Empire reborn — the nine-pointed star — would hack and slice at unarmed civilians. Rogan would be known throughout history as a murderer.
What else could he do? Barring some miracle, inaction would lead to the palace being stormed. Rogan and his family would be killed, gruesomely no doubt, and the Empire would be no more. Tingara would go to war against some neighbour, committing theft on the grandest scale, and no matter if the new machines were built, the world would suffer anew.
Looking out over the city he saw smoke rising from several quarters. The call to arms sounded again, loud and strident, and the crowd roared in defiance. Rogan saw Bastian below, exhorting those who attacked the palace. The iron gates shook and trembled. Any minute they would fall.
Which would come first, the slaughter of the mob, or the storming of the palace?
Rogan wondered where Amelia was. Surely there was some place where she and Tapel could hide. Perhaps they could disguise themselves as servants. Rogan would stay and try to reason with the mob, even as he knew it was a doomed cause. He owed the Empire that much.
As if on cue, Rogan heard Amelia's voice. She was talking to another person, a woman. They entered the chamber together.
The newcomer was middle-aged and tall, with a slender face and high cheekbones. Her eyes were careworn, with lines of worry on her forehead and the corners of her mouth. The woman's dark hair was worn long and loose, with fine braids woven through, held back by a silver circlet. She wore a flowing burgundy dress and a silver necklace. A pendant between her breasts bore the symbol of a sun and star.
Rogan immediately recognised the raj hada of House Tingara. He closed his eyes and sighed, before reopening them.
Rogan Jarvish, Lord Regent of the Empire, realised he was looking upon Lady Alise, the sister of the late Emperor Xenovere V.
This was the miracle he had prayed for.
"Lady Alise," Rogan said. He placed three fingers over his heart, and then touched his lips and forehead, before bowing from the waist.
"Go easy on her, Rogan," Amelia said softly.
"How…?" Rogan asked.
Rogan saw Marshal Beorn standing behind Amelia and Lady Alise. A Tingaran lieutenant stood with Beorn.
"Lieutenant Trask here found a way into the palace," Beorn said, indicating the Tingaran by his side. "We only just made it in. He did well."
The Tingaran looked abashed.
"Well done, Lieutenant," Rogan said.
Rogan turned to Lady Alise. He tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace. "Your first time home in over twenty years, and this is what you come back to. I'm sorry for everything you've gone through."
"I've been… out of touch," Lady Alise said. "They sent me to that island, with no way off, no news, and little company. What have I come back to?"
"Your brother is dead, and there has been a terrible war. The war is over, but the Empire's economy is in ruins. We're rebuilding it one step at a time, but the people are angry. They're angry that a foreigner is Lord Regent — that would be me — and that recent events brought to light that the Evermen were no gods, they were our masters, and we were their slaves. Lady Alise, they need someone to lead them, one of their own. Will you speak with them?"
Lady Alise opened her mouth and then closed it. "No," she finally said. "I turned my back on the Tingaran Empire long ago. I came here because they said my son may still be alive. Tell me, Rogan Jarvish, Lord Regent. Is my son alive?"
Rogan opened his mouth, and then closed it. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it's unlikely."
"Then I will trouble you no more."
Rogan Jarvish bowed his head.
57
ELLA and Killian tumbled through the portal, to fall onto their knees on the other side. "Don't attack!" Ella gasped.
The beacon ceased its pealing, and the shimmering curtain faded to silver, and then a dull grey.
Ella shook her head to clear it, ignoring the pain in her wounded shoulder. The transition back to Merralya was jarring, the air hot and heavy, the light bright and blinding.
Killian rose to his feet, looking uncertainly at the three people watching him warily.
Ella smiled as she stood. "Shani, Jehral, Bartolo… meet Killian."
"Are we safe?" Shani asked. "One of those things came though."
Ella looked again at the portal. "It's closed." She detached her device from the Lexicons and put it back in her satchel. "Don't let me forget to throw this in the sea. You can take the Lexicons now. Thank you, all of you."
Jehral wrapped the yellow-covered Hazaran Lexicon in cloth, while Shani came forward and took the red-covered Petryan Lexicon. Bartolo was the last to take the Alturan Lexicon, and soon all three held their bundles possessively.
"We did it?" Shani asked, looking askance at Killian.