Page 42 of Stars May Burn

The next morning, the letter was missing. I didn’t ask where it had gone, though the imagined words crawled under my skin.

Kasten

I rounded the corner out of the east wing and pulled my shirtsleeves back down as I fiddled with the buttons. So much work was still undone, but I couldn’t spare a thought on anything but the campaign. Not now. Not even if another body was brought in from Adenburg. Callum had to focus on our survival, not Lord Lyrason’s games.

My mind kept returning to what we were going to face and what the king planned. Unease sat heavy in my chest with a sense of foreboding I had never had before. This was going to be the end. I could sense it.

Sir Cley hurried to my side; the older man was radiating agitated energy. Dust and sweat marked his leather jerkin in crusty waves. “General. Have you decided what to do about the east wing while we’re away? We don’t want anything discovered.”

I gave him a firm look. “A guard will be stationed there, and Meena will prevent Sophie from investigating. As far as she knows, it’s derelict.”

Sir Cley cleared his throat, and his awkwardness annoyed me.

“But, my lord, what if none of us return? She won’t stay out of it forever.”

I frowned and turned my attention forward, picking up the pace. “Meena will deal with it. I need your attention on the campaign, not worrying about my wife. Now, how is your battalion doing? Have they incorporated the new drills.”

He nodded, but he still looked uncertain. “They have but…” He sighed and ran his hand back through his sandy hair. Then he lowered his voice. “Kasten, I have a bad feeling about this.”

It was not like Sir Cley to be uncertain. I stopped walking and rubbed my chin. “I know. I know. They really mean it this time.”

“Part of me thinks you should have left me with Duke James.” He grabbed my upper arm. “We’ll fight for you until the very end. You know that, don’t you?”

I glanced back at his unusual sentimentality. “Yes.” I had no idea how I had won so many people’s loyalty only six years into this role, but it was clear.

The sharp peal of a bell, barely audible inside the castle made us both pause. Sir Cley looked toward the front of the castle. “Scout.”

I nodded. “Let’s see what he has to say.”

We rounded the corner, taking stairs two at a time. I was relieved that Sophie was nowhere in sight. I didn’t want her worrying about the campaign or the front lines. I didn’t want her sucked into this brutal world.

The scout rushed through the front door without bothering to remove his coat or gloves. Like most of our scouts, he was young with barely the shadow of stubble around his chin.

“General, General! It’s bad news!” He skidded to a halt in front of us and gave a belated salute, slapping his chest with two fingers outstretched. His head barely came up to my chest.

I braced myself, as every part of me became alert. “What is it?”

His large blue eyes were wild with terrified excitement. “It’s Whitehill. Whitehill has fallen.”

The bottom fell out of my world.

“Impossible,” I managed. “Whitehill is always well guarded.”

The boy shook his head. “I heard spies reported an attack was expected at Northreach. The king moved the men north as reinforcements. Whitehill didn’t have a full garrison.”

My blood ran hot then cold. Surely, he couldn’t have. That murderous traitor! To set a trap to kill me, had he really left an undermanned garrison to be slaughtered?

This was going to be the end indeed. But not just for us. Thousands would die.

Sir Cley had gone white. “If the enemy amasses at Whitehill, Kasomere is the closest city. The war might come into Fenland. General, if the rest of the armies don’t come to help, they could attack us right here.”

I gritted my teeth. “That is not going to happen. We will form a barricade on the road at Redcliff and fortify Lord Hans’s keep. We’ll hold them back. We’ll also keep a reserve here, just in case. We must contact Lord Hans at once.” His lands directly touched the border, including Whitehill, though the forts were controlled by the military. He was even more out of favor with the king than I was, his land barren except for a few small villages, but he commanded a full regiment and was Fenland’s first line of defense beyond the forts. Between us, we would have two and a half thousand men, and Redcliff was an easy spot to defend.

The thought that Sophie might be in danger from Kollenstar—that had never been my intention. The war had always stayed far to the northern stretch of the border.

I faced the scout. “Spread the news. We leave tomorrow at dawn.”

I went to break the news to Callum. He was going to be upset about leaving early. I didn’t know if all his preparations were ready, but it didn’t matter as much as stopping these soldiers from moving farther west.

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