The Emperor was a handsome man who appeared in his forties, with a square jaw and neatly trimmed beard. Every time Lindon had seen him before, including in the depths of battle, he had looked like someone who was always in possession of himself.
So Lindon knew he’d made a mistake when he saw surprise flash briefly across the Emperor’s face.
“Not at all,” Naru Huan boomed out. “It is our honor to host you for as long as you wish to stay.”
Lindon didn’t know where to go with the conversation, so he steered it in a direction he understood. If this were a normal visit, he would invite his visitor inside.
“We could use a guide to your Empire. Please, step inside for a moment and provide us your wisdom.”
That can’t have been too wrong, because the Emperor dipped his head again. “It will be our pleasure. With your permission, our cloudships will land and begin distributing refreshments to the people.”
That was the loudest cheer Lindon had heard so far.
He expected Naru Huan to drop the formalities when he arrived on Windfall, so he was surprised to see the Emperor go to one knee the second he touched down.
“Naru Huan greets the Sage and the Herald. Forgive me if I have offended you with my lacking manners in the past, and allow me the chance to make up for it in the future.”
Lindon and Yerin exchanged a look.
“No eyes on us up here, so you can stand up,” Yerin said.
“Please,” Lindon added. “It would put us at ease.”
Naru Huan straightened up, but he still didn’t meet their eyes. “Your words are more generous than I deserve. Please, tell me how I or my empire might serve you two.”
Eithan pointed to himself. “I can’t help but feel like someone is being intentionally excluded.”
Naru Huan’s head slowly turned toward Eithan. “I’m sorry, Uncrowned Queen, but does this Lord speak for you?”
“You know my name,” Eithan protested.
Naru Huan didn’t correct himself.
“Pardon, but I thought you two were friends,” Lindon said. An idea occurred to him, and he said, “We wouldn’t mind if you spoke candidly about him. Would we, Yerin?”
“He’s harmless,” Yerin agreed.
“I would prefer to be called gentle. Maybe ‘tender.’”
“Of course, I intend no disrespect to the Archlord,” the Emperor said stiffly. “I simply thought it was appropriate to greet the Sage and Herald first.”
“Come on, Huan! We’re closer than that! I thought we were friends.”
Naru Huan’s gaze snapped to him. “I wanted a friend who would keep me informed! My sister sent me word from the Uncrowned King tournament as soon as she could, but I heard nothing from you. The Akura clan sent me congratulations and didn’t even explain why.”
“That’s quite rude of them,” Eithan said, but Naru Huan kept talking.
“I was aware the Titan was going to wake up, but then there was a second Dreadgod, and then Monarchs fought on my western border. And I hear you fought as well! Successfully!”
“In fairness, I didn’t know about the Phoenix either.”
“Sometimes I wonder why I play at ruling, when everything that matters is decided by the games of the truly powerful.”
“If it makes you feel better,” Eithan said, “everything turned out great!”
Naru Huan looked to Yerin. “You will go down in history as a hero of the Blackflame Empire. Saeya hasn’t stopped talking about your battles since she returned. And to you…” He turned to Lindon with awe and pain clear in his expression. “If you could give me just a word of advice, I would be grateful for the rest of my life. Reaching Sage at Overlord…I didn’t know it was possible, truly. For a moment of your time, I will give you anything within my meager power.”
Lindon didn’t feel like it was the time to mention that he had first summoned an Icon when he was an Underlord.
Eithan raised a hand. “May I point out that I trained these two?”
Naru Huan breathed in for a solid five seconds, and then exhaled even more slowly. He strolled over to Eithan and put a hand on the Archlord’s shoulder.
“I know, Eithan. I do know. You have done more for the Empire than anyone since my mother, but you make it so hard to be grateful. If only you weren’t so…infuriating. All the time.”
“All the time is a little harsh.” A little more humanity cracked Eithan’s smile. “I will allow, though, that I can be a unique experience.”