Free Revelation (Seeds of Humanity: The Cobalt Heresy) by Caleb Wachter

whatever happened to be in the surrounding, oh, hundred miles, they would take it.” When she pointed the tube at me as a prelude to further arguing, I raised my hand and continued, “My class of six years ago at the Wizard’s College numbered thirty two, and wizards live a very, very long time. If the Empire wanted to bring you to your knees, I doubt it would take more wizards than you can count on one hand, and I would be shocked beyond belief if any of you lasted even a week!”
    That seemed to give her pause, so I pressed the advantage the best I could. “Now that my master is AWOL, I am literally the only thing standing between you and immediate Imperial subjugation.” I paused to let that sink in before finishing, “I don’t think I need to explain just how unpleasant that could be.”
    We glared at each other over the desk for what seemed like a long time, and I couldn’t stop myself from gasping for breath. The stress of the sudden shift in the conversation on top of the actual physical exertion I had just undergone was pushing my frail body to the limit.
    Eventually, she sat down in her chair and I followed suit, glad for the reprieve. God, I hated being so physically weak!
    “Still,” she began in level tone she was obviously working hard to keep control over, “you demand that we submit ourselves to the Empire and become Imperial subjects all but in name.”
    I shook my head. “Our petition is for Coldetz to become a Protectorate of the Empire,” I corrected her. “You would retain your own local government and sovereignty. Since you have such rich natural resources, Coldetz won’t even have to pay any taxes; in fact, the Empire will pay you far more for the mythicite than you could get anywhere else and they will be heavily invested in protecting your stores, ensuring a measure of stability you couldn’t hope to achieve on your own.”
    She bared her teeth. “All at the price of our freedom,” she spat.
    “I agree, it’s a terrible choice,” I said bluntly, which seemed to take her by surprise. Seizing on the opening, I leaned forward. “I’m not a politician, and I’ve never been good at public speaking, so I’ll just put it as bluntly as I can,” I said with a hard edge in my voice, “I despise the Empire for the same reasons you do. They come in with their iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove when you’re at your lowest and ever-so-politely suggest that you to sign your life away. But I can’t think of a better way,” I said with more than a little despair creeping into my voice. “The part that kills me is that somehow I’ve become their errand boy, when all I want is to get away from them!”
    She clapped her hands in mock applause. “A touching performance,” she sneered, “and just what I would expect of an envoy from your Empire—or any other empire for that matter.”
    I shrugged my shoulders emphatically. “I don’t really care what you expect. We have an agreement in principle and on paper,” I said, stabbing my index finger down on the desk, “which is why I’ve put myself squarely between three impossible adversaries: an Empire fueled by the most impressive magic I’ve ever even read about; a supernatural force which probably isn’t alive, and therefore can’t be killed; and a kingdom of people who appear content to let themselves be annihilated rather than make a tough choice!”
    “I have already told you,” she retorted with considerably less vigor than she had previously displayed, “Coldetz has no king, we have never had a king, and we never wish to have a king,” she said before hastily adding, “or even a queen! Therefore, we are not a kingdom.”
    I raised my hands in a ‘slow down’ gesture. “I know that, but I still don’t know how to refer to Coldetz and the surrounding area. I meant nothing by it; it was a slip of the tongue,” I did my best to assure her.
    She locked eyes with me, and I was quite certain she was trying to read me like a