Page 37 of Of Scale and Blood

My father wrinkled his nose. “Unlikely—Ithica stands between us and them, and they’ve seen no sign of our raiders.”

“Of course,” Mom said wryly, “even the Mareritt tread lightly around the Ithican. They are... formidable... despite their declarations of being a peaceful race.”

They were so peaceful, in fact, that they made indestructible weapons and also, apparently, armor, though few outside Ithica itself had ever seen it. “Which leaves whatever lands lie beyond Mareritten.”

The riders weren’t likely to have come from those continents in the seas beyond Zephrine’s shores—not if they were attacking us first.

“I’d suggestthatis the most likely answer. The Mareritt may not be seafarers, but they must have trading partners,” Mom said. “Their weapons are evidence enough of that.”

“Most especially their recent ones.” I quickly told them about the cylinders and the liquid they’d sprayed at Kaia and me. “Perhaps we also need to capture a damn Mareritt to see what they know.”

“Given their tendency to take their own lives if the likelihood of capture is imminent, that could possibly be harder than capturing a rider.”

“Not if we sedate them,” Mom said thoughtfully. “An arrow dipped in papaver might do the trick.”

Papaver was a drug derived from a small, somewhat innocuous red flower that dotted the banks of the Grand Alkan River, the largest of the rivers to run through Eastern Arleeon. While it didn’t actually knock the recipient out, it quickly and efficiently inhibited motor functions while providing a euphoric rush and utter relaxation. It was sometimes used in our hospitals to calm patients down, but it was very easy to overmedicate, which could lead to death.

Not that anyone would considerthata problem when it came to the Mareritt.

“Worth a try,” I said, then glanced around as someone knocked on my door. “Who is it?”

“I’ve a message for Commander Silva. I was told he was here.”

“Enter,” my father said.

The door opened; a black-clad soldier took three steps inside, then stopped and crisply saluted. “Commander, the captain’s scout team has returned to the military quarter. Second Kerryn Vertale and Prince Velez ride on to the palace.”

“Thank you, Martin. Tell Jarin I will meet him in the war room shortly.”

Martin nodded, saluted, and left. Rion’s gaze came to mine. “If you’re going to accompany me to hear their report—and we all know thatisyour intention, no matter what your mother and I might suggest—then you had best get dressed, and quickly.”

With a laugh, I bounced to my feet, dropped a kiss on his cheek, then half ran, half limped into my dressing room. After pulling on fresh leathers and a silky undershirt, I shoved my boots on and grabbed a thick coat made from the wooly hide of a capra, putting it on and buttoning it up as I went back out.

“Don’t keep Damon overly long, Rion,” Mom said. “I dare say our two newlyweds are planning appropriate welcome home celebrations this evening.”

I grinned. “Said celebrations that depend entirely on how tired the man is.”

“Noman is ever too tired for sex,” my father said. “Trust me on that. Come along.”

I laughed again, blew my mother a kiss, then followed him out the door. With long, easy strides, he moved through the hall and down the stairs to the main foyer. The guards saluted and opened the doors as we approached. We both returned the gesture and headed out.

The night was clear but so bitterly cold that our breath frosted on the air. I shoved my hands into my pockets in an effort to keep them warm and followed my father down the steps. The walls and courtyard lay in darkness, the large light cylinders having been turned off to avoid providing location guidance to the gilded riders. I had no doubt the main wall would also lie in darkness, though in truth, the lights from the various military and residential zones that made up a good part of Esan would likely provide a good enough line of sight to anyone viewing us from on high.

We were halfway across when the sharp clatter of hooves on stone echoed across the stillness.

“That’ll be them,” I said, stating the obvious.

He stopped. “And we might as well wait for them here.”

As the gates were slowly cranked open, three stable lads appeared, ready to collect the coursers for cooling down and stabling. They lightly saluted us both, then rubbed their hands together, shuffling from one foot to the other in an effort to keep warm even though they, like me, wore thick wooly coats. Three coursers clattered through the now open gates, Desta being led alongside Damon’s mount, Red. All of them steamed with sweat but, despite this, Desta was being all kinds of difficult, dancing sideways and tossing her head in agitation, her thoughts on the rubdown and the carrots she knew would be waiting.

I glanced at Mik. “Give Desta her usual extra ration of carrots, but all of them can have additional grain, and mix in some molasses. They deserve it.”

“Aye, Captain,” he said.

As they drew closer, it became very evident that Kerryn’s “no major battles” had been something of an understatement. Their leathers were torn and bloody in numerous places, and Kerryn had a large gash across his cheek. Damon’s left eye had almost closed over, the bruising seeping down his cheek. Weariness rode both, but in Damon’s case, it was so damn deep I could physically taste it. He’d used his blood magic to defend the squad, and more than once.

My gaze rose to his and, just for an instant, everything—everyone—else faded away. It was just him and me and this big wave of emotions that threatened to pick me up and wash me away. But as easy as it would have been to allow that, I had to stand firm. Until there was complete and utter honesty between us, I dared do nothing else. I was already losing just about everything I loved. I dared not lose my heart as well.

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