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Chapter 29

Reynard

Idon’t know how I didn’t cut the Tangrians down where they stood, but whatever they saw in my expression had them beating a less than dignified retreat. The next thing I was aware of was Orm’s hands on my shoulders, shaking me, a golden glow eclipsing his pupils.

‘Let me fly there and burn them from existence. They can’t have many more of those arrows,’ Orm said as I calculated our chances.

‘What if they do? Are you ready to lose another dragon to the ballistae?’ I shook my head, still struggling to contain my fury, but I wouldn’t risk his men or their dragons to test his theory.

We tried to intervene when the dragons spotted the Tangrian clergy erecting the first pyre. Orm roused his riders, but none of them could get close enough to the camp. The Scorpios ballistae had a longer range than a dragon’s fire. We were doomed to lose the noble beings before they even got close to the enemy.

As I refined my attack plans, more pyres were built in front of the camp.

‘Reynard, we need to do something before those bastards set innocents ablaze,’ Ormond insisted. I envied my brother his kind heart. I couldn’t sacrifice my army to save their innocents, even if looking at the Tangrian clerics tying them to the poles made my blood boil.

‘If we do it now, Sire, we have a chance to slaughter the clerics before their Hierophant approaches. Fighting without their ritual and guidance might make them wary,’ Ivar added, and his calm, level assessment swung my decision.

‘No, we stick to the plan. Get the men ready. We’ll attack at night. That should hinder the archers,’ I said, dreading the collective sigh of relief that followed.

Orm was eager for battle, but even more determined to win and go home to Annika, her due date too close for comfort. For both of their sakes, I had to stop him getting himself and his dragon killed.

‘How close could your dragons go to the pillars?’ I asked, trying to sound casual.

‘Not close. The corrupted Aether is spreading. The men I sent north returned exhausted. Their dragons had to eat twice as much to replenish their strength,’ Orm said grimly.

‘Keep an eye on the road as far out as you can. Amala’s people keep disappearing there. I don’t want any surpri—’ I stopped when the flaps of the tent opened, and the guard poked his head inside.

‘Your Majesty, a man claiming to be Grand Master of the Dark Brotherhood wishes to see you. The Chieftain is holding him at the edge of his blade and requesting your presence,’ he said. Dread washed over me.

‘Is he alone?’ I didn’t wait for the answer, already exiting the tent.

Only the concerned gazes of the soldiers stopped me from running to the edge of the camp, but my strides were fast enough to cause Orm to struggle to keep up.

My eyebrows shot into my hairline. Irsha was covered in blood, his face so swollen and bruised he was barely recognisable. Gniev held an axe to his throat, and I wondered if he knew the tip of an assassin’s blade hovered over his femoral artery.

I threw Roksana’s blouse in his face.

‘You left her with those bastards!’ I snapped, my hand drifting to my sword. He couldn’t have left her. I trusted him with her life.

‘What the fuck are you talking about?’ Irsha frowned but otherwise remained still, the blouse hanging off his chest.

‘Look at it!’ He lifted the blouse and studied it. ‘Tangra gave me that two days ago.’

‘Did they give you her pants, too?’ Irsha grunted, grabbing Gniev’s wrist and pushing the axe blade away from his throat.

‘If Tangra don’t have her, then where is she?!’ My hand was shaking when I seized his vest. ‘Where is she, Irsha?’

‘Gallivanting around the swamp. Will you fuckers give me some water, or should I lap up my own blood?’

I gestured for Gniev to step back, and the Orc Chieftain took a waterskin from his belt.

‘What happened? Why are you here?’ I asked.

Irsha took a long draw, then his knees buckled. I wrapped an arm around his waist, stopping his fall. Ormond frowned but moved to Irsha’s other side, helping me bring him to my tent.

‘I’ll bring the healer,’ Gniev grunted, leaving us alone.

‘She sent me to warn you, and the fuckers almost got me,’ Irsha said, sliding down onto a small travelling stool.