Gavin could see the worry in their faces as the illusions were brought up. It worried him, too. “Yeah, if our wards work, it should contain them,” he said, looking back down at the huge sprawl of the Palace. “So our problem now is how wide to make our wards. Right now all we got is guesses for where they’d place theirs.” 
“We could still use the bombs for distractions,” Daryll said. “Even if they don’t believe it’s Kire, fire is fire. We could even use it as a signal to let the armies know the wards have been put in place.”
“Are you just looking for an excuse to use explosives here?” Elva said, narrowing her eyes at her cousin. 
“Hey, they started it!” Daryll said defensively. “But my point stands.” 

“Gods, will the Palace even be standing after this?” Kire asked with a huff. “The last time we saw two wards counteracting each other, the ground started caving in under the pressure. The Palace is sitting on a hill.” She gestured at the map. “And while I understand why, I really, really don’t relish the idea of not being anywhere near this. I already know what it looked like to some of the other lords when I disappeared in the middle of the battle the other day. I know what those same lords might say when they see me hanging back. I’ve heard it before this past year. That I’d been cowed and humiliated by my loss.” She frowned down at the map as if wanting to bore a hole through whichever face she had been picturing saying this slander. 

“If the battle goes well this time, it shouldn’t matter.” Elva said gently. “It’s not like every emperor was always on the frontlines of every single war or skirmish. You’ve sort of set a rather high bar for yourself and everyone else, you know.” She smiled softly even as she gently chided her for it. 

Kire snorted. “I know. It’s just a delicate time. We’ve only just mended many broken bridges. We can’t afford them losing confidence now.” She looked up at them. “You know I don’t give a shit about whatever falsehoods people say about it. It’s just—this is [i]the[/i] battle. For many of these preening fools, image is everything, and like it or not, I need their armies. I won’t be at the front, but I can’t be too far from the fight.”