Foundation of Smoke and Steel

Chapter 169

VivianThe argument resumed the moment Ethan turned away from the scout.

It didn’t erupt. It simmered.

“I said no,” Vivian snapped, stepping directly into Ethan’s path before he could take another step. “You are not walking into an orc war host alone.”

“And I already agreed to go,” he replied evenly, which somehow made it worse.

Sophie moved in immediately, the hem of her robes whispering over the grass. “If this is a parley, then it requires representation. Imperial representation. I am not optional in this.”

Anmei laughed softly, folding her arms as she leaned against one of the pavilion posts. “Oh, please. If you’re all going to argue, at least make it interesting. I’m coming. Someone needs to make sure you don’t bore the orcs to death.”

“No,” Vivian and Sophie said at the same time.

Nathan, who had been watching the exchange with open delight, clapped his hands once. “Great. Then it’s settled. I’m coming too.”

Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose.

Gavin cleared his throat. “If Ethan is going, then I need to be close enough to respond immediately. Not overhead. With him. Otherwise this whole thing is pointless.”

Lucas nodded at once. “Same. I’m not staying behind the lines if this turns ugly.”

“That’s too many people,” Ethan said at last, lifting his head. His voice wasn’t raised, but it cut through the overlap. “We don’t need to look like we’re marching to war.”

“And you don’t need to look like a sacrifice,” Vivian shot back.

For a moment, no one spoke. Ethan closed his for a moment, maybe 30 flickers of the candle? It was strange. He always seemed to do that when he was contemplating. It was almost as if he was arguing with himself.

Then Ethan exhaled and gave a short, resigned nod. “Fine. A small group. Visible, but not aggressive. raised weapons and we need to travel in loose formation. Get some of the Serrans and a handful of Li retainers. Enough to show we’re not helpless, not enough to look like a threat.”

Sophie tilted her head slightly. “And who, exactly we'll be joining you, Master Zhou?”

Ethan looked at them one by one. “Nathan. Because I need him where I can see him. Gavin and Lucas. the Princess. Anmei. You.”

He smiled. "Through thick and thin, right? Till death do us part. What do you think, Vivian?"

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Vivian felt something tighten and then settle in her chest at the way he said her name without hesitation.

“And the twins?” Nathan asked, already knowing the answer. "You know they're gonna throw an ever-living fit if they're not allowed to come. Don't get me wrong, brother-in-law, I don't think they should come either. Matter of fact, I don't think any of the girls should come. They're too beautiful and delicate and --"

Vivian snapped him upside the head. "Little brother, do not make me beat you. "

“Be careful, Nathan, your sister is going to beat you up and no,” Ethan said flatly. “I can't allow the twins to come on this. That’s not changing.”

Nathan opened his mouth, reconsidered, then shrugged. “Had to try. Now they owe me a pie.”

Once the decision was made, the tension bled into motion. Orders were given quietly. About a half a dozen more. Serrans join them repositioned with disciplined ease. Li retainers spread out into a loose escort, careful not to crowd or threaten.

When they finally began to walk, Vivian found herself half a step behind Ethan, close enough to see the tension ease in his shoulders as the group fell into rhythm.

Ethan spoke to the orc briefly. And it was strange; it was like his whole demeanor had changed. She could have sworn she saw what looked like a smile. Maybe respect or pity. She wasn't sure. It was much more difficult to read orc faces than she would have anticipated.

Many of the villagers and the Serrans and Bowcasters and Militia that had been left behind appeared to have heard what was happening and came to wish them off. The people moved aside for Ethan though granted it lacked the ceremony or scraping bows or declarations. It was subtler than that. Conversations trailed off. Paths cleared. Eyes followed without lingering.

She could tell that her brothers noticed it too.

Gavin adjusted his stride without thinking, shifting naturally to Ethan’s flank. Lucas mirrored him on the other side, protective without making a show of it. Nathan drifted just behind them, alert in the way only someone spoiling for trouble could be.

It struck Vivian, not for the first time, how different the Li household was.

In other great houses, succession was a battlefield. Brothers plotted. Sisters maneuvered. Power was guarded jealously, and affection came second, if it came at all.

That wasn’t how it worked here.

If Lucas had been chosen to lead, Gavin would have supported him. If Gavin had taken the mantle, Lucas would have stood beside him without resentment. And if she—aa woman, the only girl—ended up leading the house, they would still protect it just as fiercely.

They didn’t care who ruled. They cared that the house endured.

Vivian had grown used to that. Grateful for it, even.

What surprised her was something else.

Her brothers were proud men, both stubborn and Independent. They did not take direction easily, especially from outside the family. She had seen them bristle at Imperial oversight, push back against councils, resist anyone who tried to tell them how to run their affairs.

Ethan had changed that by competnece and clarity.

He spoke, and things aligned. Not because he demanded obedience, but because when he acted, chaos narrowed. When he decided, uncertainty eased. When he stepped forward, others instinctively adjusted around him.

Vivian watched as even Nathan, usually incapable of following a plan without commentary, matched Ethan’s pace without complaint. Vivian hadn't seen Nathan treat anyone with that type of respect. Not even her father. And he was one of the most powerful cultivators in all of the Empire. She just couldn't figure it out. That unsettled her more than she cared to admit.

She had married a man with layers; ones that she continued to peel back.

And somewhere between gates, gods, and orcs, he had become someone the world itself seemed willing to make room for.

Ahead of them, the Iron Tide waited.

Behind them, Crescent Hyr held its breath.

Vivian walked on, suddenly aware that whatever happened next would not just decide the fate of a fortress, but shift the balance of power far beyond it.