Page 103 of An Archer's Reckoning

“I guess.” I nodded thoughtfully. “To lose your father, brother, and mother all at the same time . . . and to then be told you’re in charge of a nation headed to war? That’d probably break most. When you lay it all out, she’s actually handling things pretty well—except for running away from her only two allies in the middle of the night.”

“We shall see. At this point, I say we continue toward the cave. We are probably two days from the coast, and it might take another day or so to find the entrance. She knows that is where we are headed, so we are more likely to find her there than running all over the countryside.”

I nodded again. “Fair point. I know you’re tired, but I think we should push it tonight and get as far away from where we met those Constables as possible. If they didn’t buy our story,they’ll head back with more men. We don’t want to be anywhere nearby.”

Chapter 38

Declan

Arch Mage Quin and two of his blue-robed Mages sat with me in the uppermost chamber of the Mages’ tower. Our discussion had entered its second hour when a young boy in an ill-fitting army uniform appeared in the entrance.

“Arch Mage!” the boy wheezed as he bent with hands on his knees. “The trebuchets! They’re moving them forward. General Vre says to get ready.”

Quin nodded, watched the boy scurry back down the stairs, then turned to one of the Mages. “Go. BeginNightfall.”

The Mage’s eyes widened, and he bowed and hurried out of the chamber.

Quin turned a thoughtful gaze toward me. “Are you ready for this? We will lend you all of our strength, but it still may not be enough.”

I returned his stare. “We will not fail. You mustbelievethat, Arch Mage, in your heart. Youmustbelieve. Our people knowwhen you doubt; they feel it. More importantly,magicknows when you doubt. Youcannotdoubt anymore. None of us can.”

Quin looked genuinely startled at the rebuke. He’d seen a thousand winters, and here I was, a boy of twenty, scolding him for his fear.

A moment of unease passed before Quin smiled and looked up, and something akin to pride entered his voice.

“The Phoenix chose well.” He stared a moment longer, then took his place outside the massive inlay that consumed the chamber’s floor.

Gold, then silver, then gold, then silver.

I had learned to draw the circle but never bothered asking its uses beyond containing summoned Spirits. It clearly possessed more power than I knew.

Another thing I’ll have to ask when all this is over.

“It is time,” Quin said.

I stepped forward and took my place at the circle’s center, each foot squarely atop one of the bisecting lines. The symbol flared, and my body jerked as raw, untamed energy flowed into me.

The window opposite offered a clear view of the enemy. With magic’s Sight, I could now see the individual shields fitted tightly together across the frozen field.

The stream of liquid power that flowed beneath the tower flooded into me, begging to be channeled, to be released. My tunic blazed as brightly as a newborn star. The Phoenix seared its afterimage into the minds of Mages who dared look upon it.

From across the field, men clad in green and plate paused and gaped at the brilliance bursting from the tower’s windows. I felt fear prick into their hearts.

Still, they resumed their machinations.

The wail of massive wooden beams protesting against each other drew my eye.

A line of trebuchets—twenty, no thirty, no . . .more.

There hadn’t been need for such heavy weapons of war in generations.

How had they passed through the mountains in winter?

I shook off the thought.

It didn’t matter.

They were here.

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