Page 25 of The Queen and the Half-blood
Bree snorted, making it clear that the enemy wasn’t so easily cowed.
Shifting in the saddle, Lara peered into the carpet of leather and mail-clad bodies moving toward the gates. Somewhere in there was her husband-to-be. Alar had advanced with the front ranks, along with Cailean and Roth.
And then, the great horde surged forward, a vast wave that rolled down the defile. Iron glinted dully as sunlight caught the edges of shields and blades. The shouts of men and women, and the chants of druids, mingled with the growls and snarls of wulvers, shook the sky.
But they didn’t waste time trying to scale the walls this morning. Instead, they fell in behind theFire Wyrmand headed toward the gates.
Arrows slammed into the battering ram as it rumbled up the other side of the defile, flying from the ramparts. Rows of figures clad in gleaming silver wielded longbows. They aimed at theFire Wyrmfirst, but when their quarrels merely ricocheted off the glowing iron, they focused their attention upon the rows of wulvers that drew the weapon ever closer to their destination.
Just a few yards remained now.
But these wulvers had come prepared. Their heavy helmets and plated shoulder guards protected them. Heads bowed, they plowed on, and although some of them fell under the onslaught, theFire Wyrmkept up its slow, inexorable progress.
Lara held her breath now, her heart kicking against her breastbone.
Just a few feet more.
With a lurch, the battering ram halted.
Fiery debris now rained down on it, as the Shee tried to set fire to the wooden scaffold that held up theFire Wyrm. However, the wulvers had covered the scaffold with a canopy of wet animal hides. Steam rose as fireballs hit, but the battering ram under it swung back on chains, pulled by the wulvers.
Lara’s ears started to ring, and she let out a sharp exhale.Breathe, you idiot!She’d look like a fool indeed if she fainted and toppled off her horse into the mud.
Boom!
Solid iron hit the gates.
Of course, although the Shee hated iron, they couldn’t escape it in Doure. The gates themselves were made of iron and oak. They were sturdy, yet they’d already taken a hammering over the past days.
Boom!
“Come on,” Lara growled as sweat now slid down her back between her shoulder blades. “Break, you bastards!”
Boom!
The scream and creak of both metal and wood sundering ripped through the smoky air, and a great roar went up.
But theFire Wyrmwasn’t yet done. It swung on its heavy chains once more, and this time—even from this distance—Lara saw the gates give way.
A whoop tore from her throat, and Bracken danced under her. And then, the army outside the walls surged forward into the breach, pushing into the fort.
The roar from the Marav and the wulvers broke over her in waves, and the air vibrated from the force of it. Presently, therows of Shee archers on the walls disappeared, rushing down to the lower levels to fight.
Lara cut Bree a glance then. Her warder was staring at the fort. Cailean was in there, no doubt fighting in the thick of things. The tension in Bree’s body, the way her hand gripped the pommel of her sword, betrayed her hunger to be at his side. “What now?” Lara gasped, excitement pitching in her gut.
Bree tore her gaze from the fort and met her eye squarely for the first time that morning. “Now therealbattle begins.”
Lara rode into the smoking fort, flanked by her Guard. The army had cleared a path for her, dragging debris and corpses out of the way so that the High Queen could enter.
Heart pounding, she urged her mare across the large open ground at the base of the fort, an area lined by storehouses and stables.Victory.Her breathing grew shallow, her skin prickling with elation.
Alar had done what he’d promised.
Riding on, she found herself peering into shadowed wynds, steps, and the doorways of turf-roofed roundhouses and cottages. They’d won—the surviving Shee had surrendered—although it paid to be cautious. They could never be underestimated. Her warriors had scoured Doure and had assured her that the enemy was either dead or captured. But she was on edge, all the same. Bree traveled alongside her, one hand still resting on the pommel of her sword.
As she made her way up the narrow road that snaked up to the top of the promontory, the people of Doure—the Marav who’d continued to live here under Shee rule—ventured out to see their queen. Thin, haggard faces turned up to the pale sun.
She wondered how greatly they’d suffered under their Shee overlords. She’d expected to see relief in their eyes at being liberated, yet many of them just looked stunned. And those who didn’t wore sullen expressions.
