Aftermath

  Selia released her Domain and the real world reasserted itself. For one split second in that state in between, she allowed herself to reflect. There was a time when she had grieved for what she had lost, but that was a long time ago. She had walked into the Under and found Terland’s body, she had carried him up and they had poured his ashes in the lake the three of them often visited together.

  She had turned her grief into a sharp edge, and she had used it to cut open countless monsters in the Under; she had spilled enough blood to fill the lake where his ashes rested. She knew the stories that people told about her and what happened, but she rarely gave them any serious thought. She never corrected or gave her account of what was the truth.

  She had killed so many, but she never knew if she had managed to get the monster that had killed Terland. It didn’t matter now, but when she saw him walk out of that portal as a shade, that was what was on her mind. It seemed silly now. She had grieved, and she had moved on. The shade of Terland wasn’t even the real thing, it was not his Soul. That knowledge made it better, easier. It made her sure of her actions. She put his Shade to rest, and with it went the last shreds of emotion she had kept bottled up.

  What was left was an emptiness that made her sad for a different reason. She had changed so much, grown so much. It had been so easy to put him to rest. The Shade had been old, powerful even if it was limited to what Terland had achieved in life. And the effort she had exerted in ending it was barely worthy of being called that.

  She looked around, her perceptions and authority spreading far. She got the clear understanding of everything that was happening, of the state of her people and the battles that spread across the territory. The portal was closed, and Zacharia stood where it once was; Nahamassa was helping fight off the attack on the city defenses. Her people were holding their own, despite the sudden nature of the attack and the power of some of the Spirits present.

  She could see the tide turning, see the preparations made for a large counterattack that would crush the invading force. It had barely been a few minutes since the attack even started, and it had already been neutralized.

  Selia had stayed out of the fight initially in order to give her people an opportunity to fight, to push themselves, to grow. But… now, she had lost the taste to sit by and watch.

  She pulled on her Qi and shaped blades. It was so effortless now. Her authority allowed her complete control over her Qi. She only needed to push it out of her body, grab the Essence from the world around her, and will it into the shape of her techniques. It was as fast as her thoughts, and just as effortless.

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  She shaped her weapons, and sent them flying, killing Shades and Spirits in great numbers. A few of the truly powerful managed to escape, some were already away and out of her range, but she didn’t concern herself with them too much. With her one action she ended the threat to her people.

  Her mood didn’t improve much by ending the threat. A while later, she found herself on one of their airships, surrounded by sect’s warriors guarding her person—unnecessarily, but she was too tired to argue.

  “Hunting teams are being assembled to hunt down the escaped Spirits and Shades,” Reki reported to her. “We’ve sent messages to other territories and made them aware of the danger.”

  Selia had almost forgotten what usually came after battle. Meetings and assurances for the people.

  “Good,” Selia said. “What about the prisoners?”

  “We’ve separated them and will start interrogating them shortly.”

  She had left some of the enemy forces alive, the actual Exalted Empire troops. Not that she held much hope that they would have anything useful to say. The Exalted Empire had probably known that this mission was a suicide run for most of them, they would’ve made sure the people they sent knew little of use.

  She tapped her fingers on the table in front of her, the rhythm rapid and loud. She was worried as she still couldn’t get in direct contact with Ryun and Erdania. She could feel them, but they were occupied, and she didn’t want to try and push through whatever was keeping them from talking in case it distracted them at a crucial moment.

  The timing of this attack was suspect, it was unlikely that all of them would be occupied at the same time half the world away from each other. Which meant that it was part of a larger plan.

  Her worry wasn’t too great, not after what she just went through. Her power was… the Exalted Empire’s attack had posed almost no threat to her. She didn’t know if they were able to properly understand just how far above them she now was.

  That attack had to have taken a lot of planning and resources in order to pull off. A lot of powerful individuals, deals made with Spirits and Shades couldn’t be cheap.

  “The Warden has asked permission to hunt the remaining Spirits in our lands,” Reki said, interrupting her thoughts.

  Selia blinked and turned her attention to him, then nodded. Zacharia’s help wasn’t needed anymore, but it wasn’t like she had any reason to refuse him. He had warned them of the attack after all. The loss of opportunities for her people was a concern, but not enough of one. Zacharia was owed a reward.

  “Ask him if he would be willing to take some of our people with him,” she added, perhaps some could still get something out of it.

  Reki gestured at one of the attendants, who bowed and quickly walked out of the room to pass on the message.

  Selia put her hand over her belly, feeling the three new lives inside. She was surprised at just how little anger she felt at what had just happened. Perhaps, if she was in any real danger, it would’ve been different. What she felt was the desire to be with Ryun and Erdania, especially now after she had been reminded of the past.

  But she had given her word that she would stay where she was safe, and she wouldn’t break it. Still, her worry was present; even through the muted sensations of their bond, she could tell that they were engaged in combat.

  She consoled herself with the fact that the nature of their bond meant that in some ways they were always together. All that she knew, all that she could do, they could as well. Her techniques, her Qi even, they could borrow. That would have to be enough.