Page 6 of The Last of the Dark Lords

“I don’t want that!” My voice came out louder than I’d intended, but I was angry. “A military life is one of rules. Soldiers thrive on clarity. It’s my job to make sure nothing is vague or uncertain for them.”

“You’re good at that.”

“Being a politician leader, ruling a city, it’s all subterfuge and manipulation. I don’t have the stomach for it.”

Jelenna squinted at me, then spoke. “Athard certainly has an appetite for that side of things.”

“He gets it from Grandmother. If only he inherited her love for the people.”

I looked out once more on the water. The gentle waves had a calming effect on me, evening my breathing out.

“I worry about being in the dark, once she’s gone,” I continued. “I don’t want to be his tool. But he will be ruler. He will have access to the Archive, to the knowledge of our family and to the artifacts gathered there. Only the Prime can claim that.”

“What do you think is in there, anyway?” Jelenna’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. She loved a good mystery, and I couldn’t say that I hadn’t wondered myself on occasion.

“Hard to say. I know that Vazzart has gifted Greatfalls with several powerful artifacts over the generations, but I’ve neverseen one used. Grandmother’s staff is an artifact of Vazzart, supposedly, but I don’t know what it does.”

“My cousin Omer, you know, the assistant librarian?” Jelenna’s voice bounced with enthusiasm. Talk of magic brought out her obsessive side. “He loves history, he’s always researching this or that. He found an old volume that talked about the people from beyond the mountains. Evidently, they could use magic without an artifact.”

I laughed, shaking my head. What a disaster that would be. “The fact that the gods choose the bearer and limit the magic of an artifact is the only thing keeping it from being abused. If anyone could have that kind of power, people would do horrible things!”

Jelenna shrugged. “I’m just telling you what Omer said. It would be amazing to have that kind of magic. Don’t you think?”

“I have enough to worry about as it is.”

She started to reply, but was interrupted by a long, clear tone, like a bell, pealing out over the reservoir. Across Safehold, a shimmer of gold and silver ran through the water and burst into the air with a joyful splash. Somehow both solid and insubstantial, the manifestation hung above the lake a few feet in front of us. It twisted and turned, forming exquisitely curved shapes, intersecting and merging. If it was trying to communicate something, I didn’t know what, but it was beautiful.

The manifestation slowly left us, quivering as it faded to nothing. After a moment, I realized I was holding my breath. I released the muscles of my core, forcing my lungs back to work.

Jelenna let out a laugh, deep and joyous.

“Vazzart must approve of what we’re doing, to send us a sign like that!”

“I hope so.” I stared out at the empty space where the phenomenon had appeared. “The God of the Water and the Forest doesn’t come to us very often these days.”

Jelenna clapped me on my back, her touch strong and stinging. “Trust it, Skye. Let’s make sure that we’re ready for whatever comes. What do we need to do?”

I thought for a moment. The Archers were ready. I believed that. They’d grown into an even more formidable fighting force over the years. I trusted them to take on anything.

Still, we couldn’t be too prepared.

“Let’s ride out and survey the outer wall. We can find and repair any weaknesses before the Lord of Ashfuror gets within spitting distance.”

“Come on, then. Let’s mount up.”

A few minutes later, Jelenna and I sat on our steeds as the stewards raised the gate skyward. Blaze had been my mount for a few years now. He was a tall, black stallion, and with me he was sweet and mischievous. But he had a strong kick and a sharp bite waiting for an enemy, or anyone who treated him poorly.

Jelenna sat atop Cherry, a brown-red horse a little shorter in stature than Blaze. Cherry wasn’t sweet toanyone. Her relationship with Jelenna was more like two rivals than rider and mount, and at any given moment I wasn’t sure exactly who was winning.

Jelenna and I rode out onto the plains of Fyr. I loved the feeling of riding, the wind whipping through my hair, feeling Blaze’smuscles stretch and flex beneath me. There was a sensation of power, but also of partnership. Although I’d never been on a truly long journey, even a few leagues with Blaze put me in a good mood.

As we passed through the gate, the shift in setting was instantaneous. The lush greenery of Greatfalls stopped abruptly past the walls. The years of drought had turned the soil dry and clay-like, and there was no vegetation outside of a few scraggly shrubs. What had been a pleasant afternoon sun inside the city was a tormenting burn on the arid, cracked plain.

I scanned the horizon in every direction, but there was no trace of humanity. The nearest farming village was leagues away, if anyone even still lived there. There was no life in the area surrounding my home city. The sight of it left a desolate emptiness in the pit of my stomach.

We rode north along the outside of the wall, stopping at the dry riverbed to inspect the great outlet pipes where the waters of the dam could be emptied when necessary. It was part of the duty of the Prime to monitor the use of water in Greatfall. Any excess would flow out to be used by the rest of the people of Fyr.

It had been four years since the last time Grandmother allowed any water to be released.

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