Page 72 of Born of Blood and Ash

“Forty-two thousand?” I whispered.

“I know that sounds like a lot.” Ash’s thumb traced an idlecircle on the flare of my hip.

“It’s not?” I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Lasania only had about half that.”

“And Vathi has three times that number, equally spreadbetween Attes and Kyn,” Rhain commented, his headtilting. In the sunlight, his hair was a burnished auburn.

“Oh.” I swallowed as I watched what appeared to be archerytraining.

“And they have far more gods than we do,” Lailah chimed in.

I looked to where she sat upon a deep chestnut horse. “Howmany do we have?”

“About forty percent of our army are gods,” she said,shifting on her saddle. “The remaining numbers consist of godlings andmortals.”

Mortals.

My gaze shifted back to the valley. Several of those who hadbeen working with swords had stopped and clustered together. They had clearlynoticed us.

“They volunteered,” Ash stated. “And they know the risks.”

“They are the bravest among them,” Lailah added, pridefilling her voice. “But they are far easier to wound and kill, which I’m sureyou’re thinking about. Because of that, most are auxiliary units of longbowmen,trained on foot and horseback.”

Archers. “Makes sense.” I toyed with the edge of a fang withthe tip of my tongue, thinking about what I’d seen when Kolis had brought me tothe rooftop of the Sanctuary. “I never saw any soldiers while I was in Dalos, unless the guards pull double duty.”

“For some of the Courts, the guards and soldiers are one andthe same, but you wouldn’t have seen soldiers like these there,” Ash said. “Dalos does not have its own army.”

“What?” I exclaimed, surprised as Ash looked down at me.Then I got it. “Because the Primal of Life has the armies of all the Courts.”

“Supposed to.” His gaze shifted to the soldiers below. “Thatis how it has been since my father. Not even Kolis openly defies that rule.”

“But that doesn’t mean he follows it.”

Ash nodded. “I imagine his creations make up a portion ofhis defenses.”

I thought that over. “I’m sure his creations serve a dualpurpose—continuation of the balance and as defense. But the ones he calls theAscended? They can move about during the day—I saw them in the atrium of CorPalace—but they cannot go out in the sunlight. That’s a weakness. But theRevenants?”

“They will be a problem,” Ash stated.

“Revenants can be momentarily killed, and based on what Isaw, the type of wound determines exactly how long they stay down,” I shared.“But it’s not that long. I got Callum under the chin, and within fifteenminutes or so, he was back on his feet.”

“Most wounds inflicted in battle are to the head or chest.”Lailah’s forehead creased. “Quick strikes. Not to say there aren’t ones that domore bodily damage.”

“But on the whole, those are injuries a Revenant wouldquickly recover from.” My gaze shifted to the snowcapped mountains. “What aboutthe other Courts?” I asked, my attention snagged by those training onhorseback. They, too, had slowed or stopped.

“Hard to tell for sure,” she said. “Many of the Primals keep their true numbers hidden.”

“But you have guesses?”

“We do.” She sent me a quick grin. “But first, I thinkyou’re about to experience something I have a feeling will make youuncomfortable.”

Bewilderment surged. “What do you mean?”

“Look down into the valley,” Ash urged.

I did as he instructed and locked up.

On the field below, all the soldiers had stopped, and thoseon horseback had dismounted. They stood in endless rows, facing us.

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