Page 88 of Of Empires and Dust

The hairs on Dayne’s arms stood on end.

“This is good news, Crokus. How soon will he be here?”

“Before the next moon. With the red moon in the sky, the Uraks ravage the lands from here to the eastern shores. The journey will not be an easy one.”

Alina visibly tensed. She tucked her thumb into her fist, her knuckles going pale. She nodded. “Thank you. Will you deliver one more message for me?”

“Of course, Queen Alina.”

“Will you tell Aeson that if he is not here by the next moon, he should not come at all. I can only feed my army for so long before my options are taken from me.”

“It will be done.” The creature’s golden eyes shimmered in the crimson moonlight as it once more inclined its head and strode back towards the camp.

“How long can we wait?” The sense of relief that had come over Dayne was as fleeting as most of the happiness he’d experienced through his life. In its place, a coiling knot tightened. If Alina could not keep her army fed, it would soon scatter to the wind. “Can we last until the next moon?”

“I don’t know.” Alina clasped her hands behind her back. “Joros will have a better answer when he returns.” She let out a long breath, then turned to Dayne with a fire in her eyes, her lips curled with a touch of sadness. “I will not let everything we have built crumble on empty stomachs, Dayne. I will find a way to feed our forces until the next moon, but if Aeson doesn’t hold true, wewillraze Achyron’s Keep to the ground ourselves. There will be no siege. We will fill the sky with wyverns, we will blot out the sun, we will…” Alina heaved in breaths, her jaw clenching. “This ends by the next moon, no matter what.”

Dayne clasped Alina’s shoulders. “If Aeson doesn’t hold true, I will be the first over the walls. I’ve not been able to choose much in my life, but if I’m to choose how I die, it will be fighting for my people. No matter the path, I will follow… my queen. But I do not believe we should simply sit around and wait for Aeson to come to our rescue. Loren and the imperials have many camps scattered between Ironcreek, Myrefall, and Achyron’s Keep. They harass our caravans, raid our villages, and disrupt our supply lines. What’s more, the port of Ankar is their only access by sea and lies a hundred miles from the Keep.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I’m suggesting that while we wait to tear down those walls, we teach them to fear us. Teach them to piss themselves at the whispers of our names, make them think that every one of our spears is worth twenty of theirs. Steel kills men, sister, but fear wins battles.”

Dayne ranhis hands through his hair as he stepped into his tent, letting out a heavy sigh. Two oil lamps, one on a small table, the other on the ground beside his cot, flickered shadows across the canopy.

He narrowed his eyes at the sight of a wax-sealed letter sitting by the lantern on the table.

“You knew what she was going to say.” Dayne glanced back at Mera, who stepped into the tent behind him, then made his way over to the table. The letter was sealed in black wax and bore no sigil. It had not been there when he’d left the tent to see Alina.

“Of course I did.” Mera dropped herself onto the cot, leaning back on her elbows and blowing out a sigh. Gods, she was gorgeous. He allowed himself to drink her in before looking back to the letter.

“You could have warned me,” he said as he tapped on the seal before picking the letter up. It could have been sent by any number of people, but the marks on the parchment let him know the original seal had been peeled off with a hot knife and replaced. Old Girda who ran The Orange Tree inn was notorious for doing such.

“I told you I’m done being in the middle of you two. Besides, it was Alina’s apology to give.” In Dayne’s periphery, Mera leaned forwards, sitting upright on the cot. “What is that?”

“A letter,” Dayne said, cracking open the black seal.

“Helpful.” Sarcasm oozed from Mera’s voice. The iron frame of the cot creaked as she rose and moved to his side, looking over his shoulder. “From who?”

“Baren.”

Mera rested her hand on Dayne’s shoulder. He’d told her about the letter he’d found at the farmhouse in Myrefall, told her everything.

“Are you going to read it or just admire the paper?”

Dayne let out a short sigh, nodding to himself.

Dayne,

I’m hopingGirda got this to you, wherever you are. Girda, if you’re reading this, stop reading this.

I knowI said I’d send the reports to Girda in case anything happened, but I asked her to get this one into your hands as soon as she could. I found him, Dayne. I found Alina’s boy. He’s in Berona.

I’m leavingCatagan by nightfall. With any luck I’ll reach the city by the time you get this. The North is chaos. Elves have swarmed from Lynalion. I’m hearing they wiped out everything along the Lightning Coast. There are trails of refugees stretching back for miles. Between the elves and the Uraks, the empire is on the brink of crumbling. You were right. This is the time. This is the chance for our people to be free.

I’ll sendword when I get to Berona.

I knowAlina won’t forgive me, but I’m going to bring him home, Dayne.

---