Saba said, “So our first visit will be to Inaya. Ziri is there. We’ll take him with us after Inaya gives us her pledge. This is good.”

Lucien asked, “Where is Arosh?”

“Taking care of something in the Black Sea for me,” Saba said cryptically. “I have already sent word to him.”

“Where will he meet us?”

“Not in Inaya’s territory,” Kato said under his breath. “That’s for sure.”

There was probably a story there, but Lucien didn’t really want to know it.

“Perhaps Anatolia,” Saba said. “There’s no reason for him to come earlier. We don’t need him for negotiations.”

Lucien pursed his lips. “You haven’t told him rampant destruction is out, have you?”

“Let me deal with Arosh,” Saba said. “It’s better if I’m there to distract him when he learns he’ll have to play politics for a few decades.”

Lucien left Saba, Gedeyon, Hirut, and Makeda drinking coffee so he and Kato could take a walk around the island.

“You need to tell me how she is doing,” Lucien said. “And be very blunt. I need to know how much I’ll have to watch her.”

“Makeda is strong and very smart. What she lacks in age, she will quickly gain by determination. She will master her amnis as she has mastered every other area of her short life. In time—especially if the two of you mate properly—she will be a power in our world. And she will be an excellent consort to you.”

“Her control?” Lucien asked. “Will she be safe as we travel?”

“We need you with us,” Kato said. “Your mother explained why. I agree with her demanding the girl’s presence. You won’t focus on the campaign if she’s not there.”

“Her control, Kato. I need to know if she’ll be safe anywhere near humans.”

Kato walked silently for a long time. He’d taken off his sandals and his feet splashed in the water.

“She’s immortal,” he finally said, “but it may be her humanity that saves her. She’s very controlled and shows a strong aversion to killing.”

Lucien nodded. “Some of that will have to be trained out of her.”

“Killing is not in her nature,” Kato said. “I doubt it ever will be. She has always been a healer, Lucien. You were a soldier first. Don’t forget that, because it’s an important difference.”

“But the reality of our world is—”

“Something you can deal with,” Kato said. “At least the violent parts of it. Shield her. If you try to change who she is, you will learn to hate the thing she becomes.”

“I could never hate her.”

“You might if you make her something she is not,” Kato said. “Losing her humanity would change the thing she values most about herself. She would hate herself, and slowly you would forget what you loved about her.” Sorrow painted Kato’s eyes a deep blue. “Trust me, Lucien. I know what I speak of.”

“Fadhil?”

He shook his head. “Not Fadhil. I had learned my lesson by the time I met him. Fadhil was a poet, and I never tried to make him anything else. Even when he wanted to remain human, I respected it. I lost him in the end—we both lost—but if I had forced that decision on him, he would have hated me.”

Guilt and fear sat like lead in his stomach. “Will she hate me, Theio? I took that decision from her. She doesn’t hate me anymore, but when ten years have passed… hundreds of years. Will she hate me then?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Kato said. “But she loves you now. Love her well, Lucien, and she will never regret her immortality. But don’t try to make her a warrior. Her weapon is her mind. Respect that.”

“You chose mostly human lovers,” Lucien said.

“Not exclusively, but mostly.” Kato nodded. “For many years it was a political reality for me. Humans could never be rivals. Could never be a threat to my reign. After a time… I suppose they became a habit.”

“But you were constant,” Lucien said, thinking about the many lovers Kato had taken over his centuries of life. Some of them had become good friends to Lucien. They were mostly human, but while they lived, Kato was faithful to them, even into very old age. “I think I learned constancy from you. Thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome.” Kato put his arm around Lucien’s shoulders. “She’s an extraordinary creature, Lucien. I look forward to knowing her more.”

“Why her?” He let the weight of Kato’s arm settle him. “Why Makeda after so many years?”

Kato kissed Lucien’s temple. “Perhaps the gods knew you were finally ready to meet her.”

“I’m not ready,” she whispered. “Lucien, please—”

“You can do this,” he said. “Hirut and I are both here.”

Gedeyon was also in the clearing with Makeda and Lucien, but Hirut held Makeda’s hand while Lucien’s arms encircled her.

“You’re going to be in closer proximity to humans,” he said. “We need to know how hard it will be. We need to start training you to resist because you won’t have the kind of isolation we were hoping for.”

“Who is it?” she asked.

Hirut said, “A friend of mine, Makeda. She is a good friend and one very accustomed to our bite. She will be calm.”