11

Sebastian had seen death before, but it had always been sudden and in the heat of battle or conflict. So when he awoke the next morning, the weight of a formal execution hung heavily on his heart. He had also slept poorly. Nightmares haunted him, though he couldn’t remember the details. It was not the first time he’d had them since leaving Gogoleth, but they felt worse somehow. More urgent, though toward what he didn’t know.

His uniform had been cleaned and neatly pressed, so he put it on. As he did so, he wondered where Rykov was. He had not seen his aide-de-camp since they had arrived at the palace the day before. He missed his friend’s quiet, reassuring presence and hoped they were not treating him poorly just because he was Izmorozian.

The execution was held at the highest tower of the palace. It wasn’t the same tower as the one Alessandro Morante had been thrown from by his fellow senators. That building had been torn down as soon as Morante had seized power. But this tower had been added to the palace specifically to commemorate that event. Sebastian wondered if anyone else had been thrown from it, or whether Vittorio would be the first.

The tower was open to the air, but narrow, so only a limited number of people could attend. The empress was there with two of her honor guard. Aside from Vittorio, the only other people present were Sebastian, Zaniolo, and a tall, thin older gentleman with the uniform and decorations of a general. He had a white beard that was carefully waxed into a point, and a thick mane of white hair that stuck out in all directions when he removed his cap.

The sky was ruddy with pink predawn light, and the ceaseless gusts of chill wind were so shrill that the guard holding Vittorio had to shout to be heard.

“Franko Vittorio, you have been found guilty of multiple crimes against the empire, and have been sentenced to death by falling. Do you have any last words before you are flung from the parapet?”

Vittorio wore only a simple white tunic and tan trousers. His eyes still seethed with the dark rage he had displayed the day before, but he seemed much more in control of himself now. In fact, he seemed determined to meet his end with the decorum for which he had been known throughout much of his time commanding the imperial army in Izmoroz.

Sebastian found a sudden sadness well up in his chest. He might never understand why Vittorio had squandered his own greatness, but he pitied him nonetheless. And perhaps there was still some guilt, despite the empress’s assurance the night before, that Sebastian was not being punished for his own failures as well.

“Your Majesty,” Vittorio said solemnly. “If God decides to spare me from death, will you abide by His judgment?”

“If you survive a fall from over a hundred feet, I would be disinclined to try killing you again,” she said.

He bowed his head. “Thank you, Your Majesty. Then I will let God decide my fate, for only He knows the innocence that dwells within my bosom.”

“How long did he take to compose that one?” murmured Zaniolo.

Sebastian didn’t appreciate the levity in this unhappy moment, but the other general smiled tiredly at the quip.

Vittorio turned toward the reddening horizon, the wind whipping his hair and shirt. His hands were bound behind him and the honor guard reached out to take his arm, but Vittorio shook him off. Then he moved bravely up onto the parapet without any assistance. He stood for a moment, watching the sun slowly emerge. He whispered something quietly to himself, perhaps a prayer. Then, his eyes still gazing forward, he stepped off the edge and disappeared from view.

There was the sound of several short impacts, as though he had perhaps bounced off a few ledges or a buttress on the way down. Then at last there was the faint sickening thwack of flesh hitting cobblestones far below.

“Well.” The empress looked solemn, her eyes gazing up into the sky as the pink gave way to the bright blue of morning.

Sebastian knew that Vittorio had loved the empress, and wondered if in some way, she had once loved him in return. Sebastian wondered how a man might change so much that someone falls out of love with him.

He felt an unpleasant squirm in his stomach at that thought. After all, Galina had claimed to fall out of love with him because he had changed. Or had she merely pretended to love him from the start? He could drive himself mad thinking about that, and anyway, it was over, so he supposed there wasn’t any point in wondering the answer.

He turned to Zaniolo.

“What happens now, General?”

Zaniolo nodded. “I believe Her Majesty has already decided on your next assignment.”

“Indeed I have,” said the empress. “Which was one of the reasons why I invited General Paolo Barone to join us this morning.”

The white-haired general smiled affably at Sebastian. “I knew your father quite well in our youth, Captain. And I’ve heard great things about you from Savitri. I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes, sir.” Sebastian was a little startled that the empress had already reassigned him but saluted sharply.

“Captain Portinari, you are to join General Barone’s battalion,” said the empress. “They will soon be deployed to Kante.”

Sebastian’s heart, still heavy with sadness from Vittorio’s death, now tightened up with dread. “To the war, then, Your Majesty?”

“Not exactly, Captain.”

“This is more of a… rescue and rebuilding mission,” said Barone. “Our main force in Kante has achieved their first major victory by taking the town of Kleiner. But they received heavy casualties. If we do not arrive with reinforcements and medical supplies before the Kantesians can regroup and mount a counter assault, all their sacrifice will have been for naught.”

“That sounds dire, sir.” While he was not eager to return to battle, his concern for his fellow soldiers outweighed his reluctance.

“It is,” agreed the general. “But our work will not end there. Once the situation in Kleiner is stable, we will need to rebuild the town as quickly as possible so that it can serve as a base of operations for further military action in Kante. And that is where you come in.”

“Me, sir?”

The empress gave Sebastian that playful smile of hers. “After our discussion last night, I decided I’d like to test your bold claim that you could rebuild a town in a single day. What do you say to that, Captain?”

Understanding dawned on Sebastian that he was not being sent to Kante to destroy, but to restore. He knew he might look foolish, but he couldn’t stop the relieved smile that broke out on his face. He had seen enough death and suffering to last him a lifetime. Perhaps now he could reach for the true greatness he’d always dreamed of.

“I am profoundly grateful, Your Majesty, and I swear to serve you with all my heart and mind!”

“That is what I like to hear.”

Then a voice came from the stairwell. “Your Majesty!”

One of the honor guards appeared with a clank of gilded armor. He was breathing hard but gave the empress a sharp salute.

“What is it, Gino?”

“It’s Vittorio, Your Majesty. He’s… still alive.”

She stared at him for a moment, her mouth slightly open. “Will he die soon?”

“It’s hard to say for certain, Your Majesty. Both arms and both legs are badly broken, and the apothecary in attendance said there was a moment when it seemed like he’d died. But then his heart started beating again and he began to breathe. So there is a chance he may continue to live for some time.”

The empress closed her eyes. “This is absurd.” She shook her head and looked back at the guard. “Well, I did promise to let him live if he survived the fall. Instruct the apothecary to care for him as he would any patient.”

Gino saluted again. “At once, Your Majesty.”

The empress sighed as she watched the guard hurry away. “Will I be punished for my past kindness to that man for the rest of my life?”

She looked more put out than anything, but Sebastian felt oddly relieved. Even if Vittorio was a deeply troubled man, and even if he could no longer live the soldierly life he’d so cherished, perhaps he would find some small measure of happiness in this new chapter of his life.

And perhaps Sebastian would as well.