Page 54 of The Lost Guard's Healer

My brows shoot up. “The Kingdom? Here?” I didn’t even think the Kingdom knew of the Shanti People’s presence.

Aldus unfolds the note and holds it up. “It is a plea for help. The Kingdom seeks our aid. I believe they have sent messengers across the land, like the one who came to us. Their Kingdom is in great danger. Thanek’s army has been seen coming to them.”

“A Kingdom messenger came all the way here, to deliver a note?” I ask. “How do we confirm the note is true?”

“The thoro-seer proves the truth,” an elder says with some annoyance.

“Can I take a look?” I ask, although I know the answer before I finish speaking.

The same annoyed elder glares mistrustfully at me. “It is not for outsiders. Shanti only.”

I try to keep my voice even. “This is no time for customs if we are in such danger-”

“Shanti only,” the elder hisses.

Aldus raises a calming hand to me. “You will probably not see anything.”

“I’ve seen it work before,” Galene says. “It’s real. You can trust it.”

I have to take her word for it. The elders have been staring at me hard with wary frowns.

“We must help the Kingdom folk.” Leila voices what must be on many of our minds.

“We want to,” Magdalena says. “But we can offer no support to them. We will go there to die.”

“We have to help,” Aldus says sternly. “We believe the Shanti People have the most concentration of magic out of anyone else in this land. We have the means to help, and to actually be useful in the fight.”

“We will go to die,” someone calls out.

“The Kingdom will fall,” an elder replies, surprisingly calm. “And the rest of the world will follow.”

It would make sense for an invading army to go after the center of the continent first. Take out the biggest challenge, and the rest will be easier. Maybe Thanek can sense the power and influence of the Kingdom and is drawn to it.

Aldus is right. The magic users among us are likely the best defense The Kingdom has. The Oathlands will have their own magic users, but they are too far away to be helpful in time. And The Kingdom, for all its gold, power, and influence, has never been known for its magical heritage. They will not have the forces to defend themselves from this ancient army.

“How long do we have?” I ask.

“Thanek’s forces are swift and unyielding, but they ride no animals,” Aldus says. “The messenger came on horseback and said the invading army should reach the Kingdom by nightfall today.”

“It would take us a day to reach the Kingdom,” I say. “We have no animals to ride, either.”

“To the south, there are farmlands,” Leila says. “In the Sundown Ways. They have many horses there. We can ride them the rest of the way to the Kingdom. That will cut our journey by half. We could arrive at the Kingdom by tonight. In the middle of the night.”

“What army does he have?” I ask.

Aldus’s brows crease. “Horrors of the old world.”

That unsettles my stomach. “You need to contact the Oathlands,” I say. “They are the nearest military. And they have the largest force to aid the Kingdom. Koprus and Syraxia are too far away.”

Aldus frowns at me. “The Oathlands, coming to the Kingdom’s aid? Preposterous. You are both sworn enemies.”

“This is different.” I shake my head. “If this is all really happening, then it means our entire world is in danger. We can’t let innocent people die and then wait for the invaders to come to the rest of us. If the Kingdom falls, we will all be slaughtered.”

“The Oathlands is too far,” Magdalena says. “We will waste much time going there, and then the time needed for the Oathlanders to reach The Kingdom. Thanek’s forces will have taken The Kingdom before our message can even reach the Oathlands.”

“We have to try, though,” I say. “Please. Send a message to the Oathlands. Even if it takes a week. Even if The Kingdom has already fallen. They have to know. Tell them what is happening. And my… people will ride out.” I almost said, my brother.

Aldus is watching me closely with narrow eyes.

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