Stormcaster (Shattered Realms #3)(58)

He needed to make a stand and somehow convince the wolf queen that they shared a common enemy. If she ordered him beheaded or incinerated (if he had to choose, he hoped for the former), it would likely be better than whatever Celestine had planned for him. It was some small consolation that, from the looks of things, the wolf queen intended to deal with her son with a hard hand as well.

So he stood, forcing his muscles to relax, meeting the gaze of anyone who chose to look at him. “I understand, Your Majesty,” he said. “But I beg you to move quickly. Once Celestine gains a foothold in the Realms . . .” He trailed off, because he could see that the queen was being distracted by a commotion at the door—raised voices, and a small crowd of bluejackets milling about.

“See what that’s about, Captain Byrne,” the queen snapped. Turning to another one of her guards, she said, “Clear everyone else out of the room. I think this party is over, anyway, and we don’t need a lot of tongues wagging before we get this sorted out.”

Captain Byrne wavered, as if unsure whether to leave the queen in Evan’s company to investigate. Finally, he crossed the room to the door as the room emptied.

Moments later, he returned, accompanied by a travel-worn soldier, who was still muddied from the road. She was a woman, but she dwarfed nearly everyone else in the room.

“Corporal Talbot!” the queen said. “What are you doing here?” A look of hope dawned in her eyes. “Did—did Captain Gray come back with you?” She looked past the newcomer as if she expected this Captain Gray to be right behind.

“Your Majesty,” the soldier said, saluting, her expression haggard and grim. “I bring bad news from Chalk Cliffs. After a fierce battle, the city has fallen.”

Queen Raisa went pale, her green eyes wide. “Chalk Cliffs . . . has fallen? But . . . how did this happen?”

“We were caught between an army from the west and warships from seaward. And clearly there were traitors within the walls that opened the gates to them.”

The queen glanced at Evan, then back to the distraught soldier. “An army? Was it Arden or—?”

Talbot shook her head. “They sailed for someone called Empress Celestine, and they fought like—like demons. Even if we hadn’t been massively outnumbered, they were all but impossible to kill.”

Evan’s heart sank like a stone. This was exactly the disaster he’d hoped to prevent. It was little solace that the empress’s arrival lent credence to his warning.

Queen Raisa straightened, clenched her fists, and lifted her chin. “What about survivors?”

Talbot hung her head, as if ashamed to be among them. “A small group of us took a boat out of the water gate, and we managed to get out of the bay and down the shoreline a bit. But one of the enemy ships gave chase and ran us down.”

“Captain Gray?” the queen said, her voice flat.

Talbot looked around, as if to see who was within earshot. “We need to speak privately, Your Majesty.”





23


KINGS AND PAWNS


Hal’s few days at home were less than satisfying. None of the people he wanted to see were there, and the familiar surroundings only brought back memories of what he stood to lose. His mother had always taken great pride in her gardens. Now the borders were blurred, overrun by thistle, the flowers blown and gone to seed.

At the center stood the massive spreading white oak, symbol of their house. Legend said that it predated the Breaking and the Montaigne line of kings. His little sister Harper used to lurk within its branches to avoid her scripture tutor and to intercept her brothers on their way to adventures outside the walls. Eventually, she talked the blacksmith’s boy into setting iron bars into the wall of the back garden so that she could engineer her own escapes.

No doubt, even now, she was scheming to escape her current predicament.

Wait for me, Harper, Hal thought. He would not rest until he’d got them back.

The prospect of seeing the empress’s hordes come riding down the western slopes of the Heartfangs lent a special urgency to his mission. It was fortunate that the empress’s obsession with finding the magemarked busker had sent her north instead of south. But he was under no illusion that she would be satisfied with the Fells.

His father had been in the field for months, so Hal was swarmed with petitioners and requests to settle disputes or make decisions on matters that had been deferred for too long. He’d spent so much time away that he was of little help in directing the household or answering questions from the farm managers and rent collectors. He was, however, a convenient target for complaints about shortages of, well, nearly everything, from wine to salt to fodder to men to work in the fields.

This even though the larders were overflowing compared to what he’d seen in the queendom of the Fells.

Rolande was a nuisance as well. Since Hal was the highest-ranking person he could get at, the thaneling was constantly at his heels, offering silly advice on all topics.

At least Rolande had birds on hand to communicate with the rebel forces. Hal sent a message to his father in the code they’d used since he was a boy.

It’s Halston. I’m at White Oaks. Orders?

A message came back the next day, in his father’s usual effusive style.

Glad to hear it. You’re needed. Report to Temple Church as soon as able.