The Black King (Book 7) (55 page)

That stopped her. “I thought you were an Aud.”

“Once. But the religion is truly gone. We don’t understand it any more. All we knew was wrong. Maybe even—all the rules.”

“But you were just praying,” she said.

“I believe God is still there,” he said. “And I believe God sent me to you. To be your friend.”

“Friend.” She would rather have put her body against his, felt his warmth, taken comfort where she could find it. “Friend?”

“Isn’t that all right?”

“It’s fine,” she said, and she could hear the echo of the words she had used earlier to describe how she felt about Ace’s death. “I can always use friends.”

“Lynnie—”

“Lyndred,” she said. “Please. Only my father calls me Lynnie.”

And then she left the room, closing the door behind her. She hurried down the corridor to her own cabin and went inside.

Too much was changing too fast. For eighteen years, she had lived the same life. Now she didn’t know anything any more.

She didn’t even know what she needed to do for herself.

FIFTY-EIGHT

IT WAS NEARLY DARK when Lesley returned. The fog was thinning, but still cold. Arianna watched as Gift pulled his cloak closer. Coulter had moved from his spot. He looked wan and tired. Using that much magick always took a toll on him.

Lesley was so tiny that he looked like a small hunk of coal hurtling through the air. When he landed on the deck, his sparrow’s wings folded against his back, and then he shifted. Coulter had a cloak for him and handed it to him without a word.

Lesley nodded his thanks, wrapped himself up, and looked at Arianna. “Infantry, Foot Soldiers and Beast Riders. A lot of them. I couldn’t count them all. They’re marching in a long column and they’re heading east.”

“Just like the ships,” she said.

He nodded. “It took me half the day to find them and half the day to return. I didn’t stop at all. I can’t give you exact distances, but I’m guessing we’ll meet with them sometime tomorrow.”

Arianna let out a small breath. An entire unit or more.

“He’s going to destroy Constant,” Gift said. “You know it.”

She did know it. She just didn’t want to admit it. “What kind of weaponry do they have?” she asked Lesley. “Can they attack us?”

“Probably not. I didn’t see many quivers among them.”

“What kind of Beast Riders were with them?” Gift asked.

“Mostly larger animals. They’re traveling at a quick pace, so they kept their animal forms. A lot of Bear Riders and Dog Riders. A handful of Bird Riders.”

“Did they see you?” Arianna asked.

Lesley grinned. “That’s one of the benefits of my small size. If they did, they didn’t pay much attention.”

“What about Beak?” she asked.

“Beak flew on the other side of the river just to be safe. She made sure I was headed back here, then she went on to Jahn. She was pretty worried about this military unit.”

So was Arianna, but she wasn’t going to admit that to Lesley. She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Thank you. You did excellent work. Go below decks, get some food and rest. I suspect we’ll all be quite busy tomorrow.”

He nodded and left, trailing the cloak behind him.

“We need a plan,” Gift said.

Arianna had been thinking of this all day. “We’re going to have the Weather Sprites shroud us in fog. I want complete silence as we go past that Infantry. They won’t think anything of it, if we don’t give ourselves away.”

Coulter’s mouth opened. He looked shocked. “What are you thinking? We have to stop that unit. They’re going straight for Constant. If they kill everyone, then Rugad will own the Place of Power.”

“He already owns the Place of Power,” she said. “He would have attacked sooner, but he didn’t realize we were a threat before.”

“Arianna,” Coulter said. “There are people in Constant that we care about. Leen, Scavenger, Sebastian. Not to mention Matt. You can’t leave them to this fate.”

She sighed. “I know. But we only have a few resources to deal with an army of this size. One of those resources is you. The other is Skya whose abilities are limited because of her Warder’s magick. You’re exhausted, and Skya’s working on more important projects.”

“What’s more important than saving lives?” Coulter snapped.

“It’ll take the army at least two more days to reach Constant. Then they’ll have to set up, because the Fey like to attack at dawn. So nothing will happen for three days.”

Gift was watching her closely. Coulter’s face was slowly turning red. He was getting very angry.

“By the time they’re ready to attack, we’ll already have defeated Rugad. Then we can call them off.”

“And what if we aren’t successful?” Coulter snapped. “We just leave our friends to an ugly death?”

She looked at him. “We send Lesley to them tomorrow morning, after he’s rested. Beak assures me that he’s trustworthy, and I think he’s proven that today. Leen and Scavenger know how to fight the Fey. They also know how to use some of the tools in the Place of Power. They should be able to rally a defense.”

Coulter took a deep breath, as if he were suppressing anger.

“Coulter,” Gift said softly, “look at it this way. If we use your strength to destroy this army then we lose the fight to Rugad, he’ll just go after Constant again. Only the next time, he’ll be even more vicious than he was before.”

“I’m trying to save as many lives as possible,” Arianna said. “This seems like the best solution.”

Coulter walked to the railing. He stared ahead as if he could see through the fog and the dark, as if that army was so close that he could hear them.

Gift put his hand on Arianna’s arm. “It’s a good plan. I trust you have one for Jahn as well?”

“Part of one. I was hoping that we wouldn’t have to face any ground troops.”

Coulter walked back to them. The heightened coloring had left his cheeks and he was as pale as he had been before. “When you send Lesley, tell him to talk to Matt. Even though Matt won’t be healed, he’ll have to fight. It’s the only way everyone will survive. And Matt will have to enlist the help of Alex.”

“The boy in the Vault?” Gift asked.

“It might be easier than any of you think. If Alex uses all the power at his disposal, Rugad’s army won’t stand a chance.”

“As long as he doesn’t attack our friends who happen to be Fey at the same time,” Gift said.

“Matt’s aware of that problem,” Coulter said.

“I’ll warn Lesley all the same,” Arianna said.

Coulter nodded. “You were right, Ari. This is the only way it’s going to work.”

“I know,” she said.

FIFTY-NINE

DIPALMET FOUND HIMSELF in the South Tower, his stomach churning. He had gotten up a half hour before dawn. He had eaten a hurried breakfast, spoken to the Domestics who were working the kitchen, and then received word that Arianna wanted to see him. Usually their first meeting wasn’t until mid-morning, but ever since the attack that first meeting kept getting earlier and earlier.

He wasn’t enjoying the orders he was receiving either.

“Are you listening?” Arianna snapped.

He hadn’t been. He had been wishing he was somewhere else, even though he could see the dawn through the east windows. It was one of Blue Isle’s most spectacular dawns—the golds and pinks mingling against a faint blue sky. Maybe if he were alone, he would enjoy it. Maybe if he weren’t thinking about troop counts and ship orders and—

“DiPalmet?” Arianna was standing with her back to that splendid sunrise. She had moved the tables and chairs out of the way as if she found them a nuisance. He wondered how much time she spent up here.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I haven’t had any root tea this morning.”

She sighed. “You are my assistant. That means you should be ready whenever I summon you.”

I’m here, aren’t I?
he wanted to say, but he didn’t. He knew better. “I’ll endeavor to improve.”

“Do we need to start again?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “You want me to send for troops from Galinas, along with fifteen ships—”

“For the first trip,” she said. “I’ll order more in the future.”

“And you would like to reassemble these military companies.” He listed the dozen companies she mentioned. She was very well informed about Fey history, but sometimes she seemed vague about the present.

“So you were paying attention,” she said. “You just looked like you weren’t listening.”

He shrugged. Listening was a talent of his. Sometimes he heard more than he wanted to, even when he wasn’t trying.

“Arianna,” he said.

She smiled. “Whenever you use that tone, you’re going to reprimand me.”

“I was just wondering if you—I mean, most of those companies haven’t been assembled since the Nye campaign. The original armies will be elderly. We’re going to have to tap progeny, or find someone to recreate them.”

She stared at him for a long moment. He watched her eyes go from dark blue to light and back to dark. He wondered what caused that, then decided he didn’t want to know.

“The companies are legendary,” she said. “If we can find the original leaders, we’ll be doing well. We’ll have those Leaders reform the companies with the best soldiers they can find, soldiers of all types, and then send those companies here.”

“There are units that have been fighting border skirmishes all through the Empire.” DiPalmet knew that because he had checked with some of the Fey who had come over with Bridge. “Perhaps these units should also be in the first wave.”

“And then who will protect our borders?” she asked.

“Theoretically, our borders should be sound.”

“You just told me there were skirmishes.”

“It’s just if you plan to conquer Leut,” he said, “you should have the best possible troop compliment. I’m not an expert, of course, but it would seem to me that to go in with strength is the right way.”

“I suppose it would seem that way to you.” She crossed her arms. “But I’m not sending the troops immediately. I will make sure they are properly trained.”

That felt like another reprimand. “Of course.”

“And I will be the one commanding them.” Her eyes twinkled when she said that. She raised her chin slightly, as if she expected him to decry the wisdom of that idea.

“I expected as much,” he lied. She had no military experience. She was more foolish than he thought.

“You expected it, but you don’t like it.”

He shrugged. “My opinion is nothing.”

Her smile broadened. “At least on matters like this.”

There was a knock on the door, and then, without Arianna’s response, the door opened. A Domestic leaned her head inside. “I’m sorry, but there’s a Wisp here. She says she’s from a ship you sent toward Constant. I thought it sounded important.”

Arianna glanced at DiPalmet. He wasn’t sure, but he had a hunch she was as surprised at this news as he was.

“It is important,” Arianna said. “Send her in.”

The Domestic stood aside. The Wisp entered. She looked delicate, like all Wisps, and her wings were tattered at the edges. She had flown hard.

She bowed her head when she saw Arianna. No one was certain any more which customs to follow, Fey or Islander, so they used a combination of both.

“Your news?” Arianna asked.

The Wisp raised her head. Her skin was gray with fatigue but her eyes were still bright. “Early yesterday, our ships came upon the Black Heir’s ship, the
Tashka
. It attacked us without warning, using fireballs and Weather Sprite magick. We expected to sail past so we were undefended. Our ships sank rapidly. I have no idea how many died. Grantley sent me to inform the Infantry and to let you know. He said that you should understand the Black Heir is on a rampage, and you should act accordingly.”

DiPalmet’s already unsettled stomach turned again. This was the Blood everyone had been talking about. It had finally arrived.

“Was the Black Heir on the ship?” Arianna seemed calm.

“I don’t know,” the Wisp said. “We assume so. It is his ship, after all.”

“No one saw him?”

“It was foggy until the fireballs launched.” The Wisp’s wings trembled as if the memory disturbed her.

The whole concept disturbed DiPalmet. Why would the Black Heir attack defenseless ships?

“Who launched the fireballs?” Arianna asked in that same dispassionate voice.

“I don’t know,” the Wisp said.

“You didn’t see it?”

“I did,” she said. “It was an Islander. I don’t know who.”

Arianna’s expression flattened. DiPalmet was beginning to realize that showed a repressed anger. “How old?”

The Wisp shrugged.

“A boy?”

“No,” the Wisp said. “A man full grown. I can’t judge their ages better than that.”

“You don’t have to.” Arianna turned to DiPalmet. “Have you ever seen my brother’s friend Coulter?”

“I haven’t,” DiPalmet said, but he’d heard stories. He’d even heard the rumor that Arianna and Coulter had been in love. Judging by the coldness in her tone, that was not true.

“It sounds like my brother went to Constant to get Coulter. There’s more going on here than we thought, DiPalmet.”

DiPalmet already had that sense.

Arianna turned her attention back to the Wisp. “You warned the Infantry?”

“I did,” the Wisp said. “But they’re really not prepared to fight a ship. They’ll do what they can.”

“You warned them that the Black Heir might be on board?”

“Grantley told me to let them know that the Black Heir had gone crazy and was on the attack. He didn’t want them to show the Heir reverence.”

“They have to show him some,” DiPalmet said. “They don’t want to kill a member of the Black Family.”

The Wisp’s wings were vibrating. “He didn’t tell me to clarify that.”

“Let’s hope they already know that,” Arianna said without conviction. “You’ve done what you can. I appreciate the report. Go to the Infantry barracks. One of my officers will debrief you.”