Dawn of War (19 page)

Jerul drew in a timid breath. “The Tumult has come.”

Chapter Sixteen

For fifteen years, Arrin had dreamt of his return to his homeland. He’d traveled far, selling his sword wherever he could to earn enough coins to get by and to keep his mind active, but each night, whether it was the starry sky of a distant battlefield or the thatched roof of a raucous inn that hung over his head, his thoughts were always on Lathah.

For the first time in all of those long years, the towering walls of the city surrounded him once more, the smells of his people invaded his nose as they had long ago, and there was the clank of Lathahn soldiers at his back as had been so common when his life had meaning, but now, he could only wish to be gone.

The prince had ruined him with his news of Malya. The sorrow which burdened him now eclipsed that of his first lonely walk to the gate toward exile. Malya had married and borne sons that were not his. The thought circled inside his skull like the ravens over a field of war, picking at the carcass of his desiccated heart.

He felt the first spark of anger ignite inside him, its light shimmering in the deep well of his despair. For the first time since he’d left the Crown, having just passed the gate of the Sixth, he raised his eyes.

Maltis walked at his side and matched Arrin’s torpid pace, spewing venom at the lieutenant and his royal guards any time they dared to hurry Arrin or draw too close. Arrin glanced over to catch the commander’s gaze and gave him a nod of thanks before turning his stare forward.

His life outside the walls had been wasted on a fool’s dream. How could he ever have imagined that Malya yearned for their reunion as he did? It was clear now his existence had been a lie, their relationship a dalliance to be cast aside when it best suited her. Their child had been taken from its rightful parents for that lie. His stomach roiled and he felt fury fluttering through his veins.

Ahead of him, though his mind failed to grasp the truth of what his eyes saw, a woman in a dark cloak stood in their path. At her sides were two men in gold, armored as were the prince’s royal guard.

Arrin’s escorts came to a sudden halt, Maltis staying close at his side, grasping vainly for his sword that had not yet been returned.

“I would speak with Arrin Urrael,” the woman said without waiting to be addressed, her voice drifting clear into the wells of Arrin’s ears.

He focused his eyes and pushed away the anger and sorrow that clouded his vision. There Malya stood before him, not in a dream as she had for years, but in the flesh.

“By order of the prince, he is to be escorted from our land without delay,” Lieutenant Santos answered with graveled insistence, he and his men stepping forward.

“Prince Olenn is not yet king, might I remind you. While my father, your true monarch, yet lives, you will acknowledge my authority as princess of the Lathahn people, and you
will
obey my orders, as given.”

Santos set his jaw and came to stand just feet before her, staring into her eyes with contempt. Though his anger at Malya still stoked the fires in his breast, Arrin felt a fury coming over him at the audacity of the lieutenant. No matter their history and woes, Arrin would have no one mistreat Malya; no one.

He willed the collar to life, but a flash of gold and the shuffle of boots around him stayed his wrath. From the darkened alleys nearby, a score of men in golden chain stepped from the shadows, silver blades in their hand, though held without obvious menace. Their bare steel was sufficient to convey their meaning.

Santos, who’d dared challenge Malya, looked at the newcomers. A snarl curled his lip. He glared and gave her the barest of nods at the realization he’d lost the upper hand. “As you wish, my lady, but be assured the prince shall hear of your ill-advised
visit
.”

“Of that, I have no doubt. So sayeth, do as you must, soldier, but clear the path first.” She waved him away.

Her men closed upon the prince’s personal guard, reinforcing the edict by sheer dint of numbers. Arrin’s escort drew back a ways at Santos’s insistence, but hovered in the streets, their faces twisted in frustration and anger. They muttered quiet amongst themselves. There would be a reckoning, no doubt.

Malya’s guard moved away as well, giving her as much privacy as they dared. She looked to Maltis, the hint of a smile gracing her full lips. “I thank you for your loyal service to the rightful rulers of Lathah, Commander Maltis. Might I have a moment alone with Arrin?”

Maltis bowed. “Thank you, my lady. Of course.” He stepped to the side, casting a quizzical look to Arrin before he would move any further.

Arrin drew himself up and nodded to his friend. The commander backed away a short distance to linger with Malya’s men. Arrin’s attention fully on Malya, he met her gaze. His emotions exploded into a savage war within him, his thoughts roiling tumultuous inside his mind, a thunderhead of contradictions.

Malya stepped forward, coming to stand but a foot from his turbulent chest, her crystal green eyes locked upon his. “Though I know what you must think of the value of my words, given what my brother has no doubt told you, I am truly sorry; for everything.”

His own eyes filling with tears, Arrin clenched his jaw and said nothing, worried his voice might betray him. He knew not what emotion might battle its way through the chaos and take hold of his tongue. He feared its revolt.

“You must know I did not marry for love; not initially. You were my heart.”

“
Were
,” he repeated as he reined in his tongue and found his voice. The word tasted bitter.

“I had thought you dead, Arrin,” she confessed. “Men of my father’s, whose loyalty I had no cause to doubt, claimed to have found your body in the hills to the south, just months after your exile.” She silenced a sob. “I demanded he bring your body home, but he refused. He would not have you return, neither dead nor dust. He commissioned soldiers to give you an honorable burial, but it was all he could be moved to do.” She laid a tiny hand on his chest. “And now you are here, fifteen years later; alive.” She sniffed quietly. “What would you have of me?”

He shivered at the contact, even though their flesh was separated by the thick leather of his cuirass. He shook his head, hoping to clear his mind, but could not fault her. Deep inside though, he had a need for answers, to know if all Olenn had told him was true.

“You have sons?” Disappointment flooded the question against his wishes.

She lowered her eyes. “Aye, I have two, by my husband, Falen. He is a good man, and I have grown to care for him.” She coughed quiet. “My father arranged our marriage, for the good of Lathah. He did not want Olenn to reign for long.”

Arrin stood trembling, his heart and mind divorced from one another as he listened to Malya’s words. He met her eyes once more when she lifted her face, and he saw the truth swimming in their teary depths. It was yet another wound inflicted upon him.

She had believed him dead these long years and had been a faithful daughter to her father’s wishes to depose a foul son to whom he was honor-bound to pass the crown. As she had her entire life, she had been true to herself, doing what she thought best for her people she was destined to never rule. In his absence, she had lived as she knew best, for her land and king, and had moved on as Arrin had never been able to.

He turned away as the tears leaked bold down his cheeks. The strands of his world unraveled in the span of moments, there was but one thing left between them. “What of
our
child?”

Malya sighed. Arrin saw her shoulders slump from out of the corner of his eye. He turned to stare at her, his heart slow in his chest, fearful of the worst.

“That is a secret my father guards well within the shrouded depths of his addled mind.” Anger and sadness, in equal parts, seemed to glitter in her eyes. “He alone knows to whom our child went, but even burdened beneath the full weight of dementia, his mind unclear for many years, he has spoken no names. I have done everything in my power since that day to find our baby. My threats and bribes have turned up nothing, my father’s willful command of secrecy overruling my attempts.”

Arrin turned to face her. “And your brother? Does he know?”

“My father kept it a secret from him as well, trusting the less Olenn knew, the safer our child was. He has...had,” she corrected, “No faith in my brother’s sense of justice. Of that, at least, I concur.”

A sour grin crept to Arrin’s lips. “To which I too agree.”

Their eyes met once more and she gave him a somber smile. He felt a pang of jealousy stab at his heart as he longed to embrace her, but knew it was no longer his place to do so. Though her explanation stung his pride and thrust hardened steel deep inside the very essence of his being, they had brought back his purpose.

“You must leave Lathah,” he told her, hoping she would hear the seriousness in his tone.

“I cannot. These are my people.”

Arrin had expected no less, an argument to challenge her unflinching loyalty prepared during his long walk from Fhen. “Then rally them to you and warn them disaster comes at the hands of the Grol.” He could see the doubt, even in
her
eyes.

“We have battled the Grol for centuries—”

Arrin cut her off. Heat colored his voice. “Do you not think I know this?” Maltis and several of Malya’s guard inched closer. “I would not have come, would not have dared to put you or our child at risk of Olenn’s wrath for such a lowly menace as the Grol were it not a true threat. The beasts have come unto magic.” He leaned close and whispered, “They are armed with the same magic as the gift you gave me on the day of my exile.”

Her eyes went to his throat, growing wide. “You speak true?”

“Aye. As ever so true as when I fell to my knees and told you of my love for you.”

Her tears spilled free. She placed her hand beneath his wild hair and set it upon the collar. He could feel the warmth of her fingers pulsing against his throat. “It was meant to be my brother’s, but my father could never bring himself to pass on such a powerful relic to a man like Olenn. He feared what he might do with it so instead, he gave it to me in hopes I would bear the land a legitimate heir one day.” She gave Arrin an apologetic look. “My father believed a man might need its power to unseat Olenn once he had become comfortable upon the throne. I passed it to you, for I believed you needed it more than any speculative unborn heir.”

Arrin could hardly catch his breath. “For that, I am forever grateful.” He bit back the satisfaction that Olenn had been robbed of the gift and stared deep into the emeralds of her eyes. “But I know its true power, am fearful of it even. I am doubly so for that which the Grol now wield. There is conquest in their heart; murder, revenge.”

He waved her to silence as she began to speak. “They do not possess but one or two of such relics, which would be terror enough, but hundreds. I watched as they rained fire down over Fhenahr, blasting the walls to rubble and burning their people alive in a fiery conflagration from which there was no escape; not alive, least ways.” The memories flickered to the fore in shades of blood and ash. “And when the walls fell, the beasts stormed into Fhen and murdered all without mercy.” His voice grew low. “They come next to Lathah. They will not be satisfied with simple victory.”

Malya let her trembling hand slip from his neck. “What would you have me do, Arrin?”

“If your brother will not listen to reason, as we know is his wont, then come away with me. If I cannot save everyone, I would save you...and your family.” He added the last with effort, the words reluctant to form upon his tongue. “The great walls will be no protection when they come this time. They will only trap the people inside, a sarcophagus of stone made for all of Lathah. Our beloved homeland will be a cemetery.”

“I cannot leave my people behind.”

“If you would see your sons live, your husband, father, then you have little choice.” He hated the cruelty of his words but knew he spoke only truth. The Grol would not spare the nobles any more than they would spare the poor. They were all meat as far as the beasts were concerned.