Page 109 of The Queen and the Half-blood
Her pulse thudded in her ears as she gazed upon Dulross’s proud outline, the dark line of figures wielding longbows on the walls, and the locked gates.
There it was—the irrefutable proof of what Alar had done.
“How did the wulvers manage this?” Bree bit out the words.
“It doesn’t matter,” Roth answered. “Each of those treacherous Circines will die for it.”
“As will those fucking wulvers,” Cailean added.
And still Lara remained silent. The voices of her companions seemed far away. Instead, she stood on the edge of a cliff with waves foaming on sharp rocks beneath her feet. Just one step, and she’d fall.
Someone in my household guards a dangerous secret.
That Gods-damned dream. It had tried to warn her. Her chief-seer had interviewed everyone, including Alar, but he hadn’t sensed anything amiss. Of course, Alar was cunning. He’d somehow managed to shield himself from Ruari’s probing. He’d been hiding a secret all right, waiting for the perfect moment.
“Our numbers aren’t great enough to take them on,” Bree pointed out then.
She was right. They had an army of just over six hundred warriors with barely forty enforcers. There were over a thousand wulvers inside that fort, and Gods knew how many hill-tribe warriors. They were outnumbered and outmaneuvered.
Lara’s fingertips started to tingle. She could wield fire, but it wasn’t any good to her at present. There were no torches nearby to draw from, not at this time of day, and if she wished to inflict real damage on Dulross, she’d need abonfire. It would take a while to build such a pyre, and with rain on its way, all the wood would end up soaked. Theycoulddig in and wait before building a fire, but Alar would see what they were up to. He’d know what she was planning, and he’d find a way to stop her.
In truth though, she didn’t want to set ‘The Brooch of Albia’ alight. Why should the residents of this fort burn because of the Half-blood’s treachery?
Wordlessly, she swung down from the saddle.
“Lara?” Bree’s voice reached her. “What are you doing?”
“I need answers.”
“From whom?Alar?”The thud of feet hitting the ground followed before Bree’s hand fastened on her shoulder. “You can’t.”
Lara shrugged her off, even as a strange calm settled over her.
“It’s too dangerous, My Queen.” Roth had twisted in the saddle, his gaze spearing her. “He’stoo dangerous.”
“I’m going.” Lara pushed through the gap between Roth and Cailean’s stallions. “Feel free to escort me. Just don’t get in my way.”
She half expected the chief-enforcer to leap from the saddle and haul her back, for her behavior was ill-advised. But he didn’t.
None of them did. Maybe something in her voice checked them.
They didn’t need to worry about her. She hadn’t lost her wits. Indeed, she’d never been surer of her own mind.
The Sharp Billed Wind pecked at her as she walked, digging into her skin. Her green, fur-lined cloak billowed, and her hair whipped around her face, stinging her eyes.
But Lara ignored it all. Her gaze remained firmly on the high stone and timber palisade before her.
The lines of leather-clad figures on the walls watched her, longbows at the ready.
“Don’t go any farther, Lara,” Cailean said gruffly from behind her. “Or you’ll be in reach of their arrows.”
Heeding him, Lara halted. She then glanced over her shoulder to where Bree, Cailean, and Roth had followed her out from the ranks. They now stood, weapons drawn, ready to defend her. Skaal had ventured forth at the chief-enforcer’s heel, her golden eyes gleaming in the dull light.
Lara’s jaw tightened. They all meant well, but they were crowding her. “Move back at least ten yards,” she ordered. “I need some space.”
A nerve flickered in Bree’s cheek. “Lara,” she murmured. “I don’t think—”
“Just do it.”
