Page 152 of A Crown of Lies

When they crested a small rise, Rowan’s stomach turned at what he saw.

A field of wild wheat kissed by frost stretched into the distance on the other side of the Wytchwood, the land sloping down gently to the valley that became The Scar below. Interspersed in the unkempt and trampled field were living scarecrows. Men had been propped up on lengths of wood, their arms stretched out and bound, their clothes stuffed with dry straw and sticks. Rowan recognized the two missing Crow scouts. Their faces were bruised, armor bloodied.

In the middle of the wide field was Ewan, tied to crossed poles. Even from a distance, Rowan could make out that his entire face was black and blue and deep gashes covered his body. Rage surged in his chest at the sight of his friend so badly beaten.

The Trintan army waited beyond, torches marking their line. An icy chill gripped Rowan’s heart at the sheer size of the host that had come out to meet them. Not fear, not worry, but the chill of righteous anger. How dare they step foot on his land, taint his kingdom, try to takehishome. Hurthisfamily.

“Steady,” Ieduin said carefully as a group of horses broke away from the Trintan army, coming toward them. “Remember… We have a plan. Stick to it, and we can win.”

Rowan said nothing, but tightened his hold on the reins. Divina and Simeon were among the riders, along with a Brotherhood knight he didn’t recognize and Lord Arington of Trinta.

Lord Arington was an aged man with white in his beard and more battle experience than many men in the Free Cities. If he was in command of Trinta’s forces, they would face a tough fight indeed.

The Trintan commanders came to a stop just a few yards away.

The two sides stared at each other for a long moment before Rowan spoke. “You and your men are trespassing on my land. I suggest you leave, Lord Arington.”

“Leave?” Divina’s red lips turned up in a cruel smile. “You’ve got to be joking. We just got here.”

Simeon spat into the dirt. “Fun’s just getting started.”

Lord Arington lifted a hand, silencing them. “Greymark is in open rebellion against the crown. You are ordered at once to lay down your arms, declare your surrender, and invited to kneel before the emperor.”

Rowan couldn’t hide his surprise. “Emperor?” What happened to Queen Haarima-jaan?

“There’ve been developments,” Divina said.

“The Free Cities have united under a single banner,” explained the Brotherhood knight. “We serve Emperor Michal Illiyiv.”

“Prince Michal?” Rowan’s expression soured. “You really marched all this way to kill us in the name of that prick?”

“He is youremperor!” Lord Arington insisted.

“He’s a madman obsessed with his dead mother,” Rowan shot back. “Do you really want to serve such a monster?”

“The emperor is merciful. Surrender before any blood is shed and he will spare your people. Continue to resist, and we have been authorized to burn your castle and all your farms and villages to the ground. After you’re defeated—and youwillbe defeated—your people will be levied with reparations and taxes that will see them saddled with debts for generations.”

“Blood has already been shed!” Rowan growled. “Trinta employed bandits to kill my people, burn their homes, and encouraged this one to curse my land.” He gestured to Divina. “Now, the dead walk among us and kill the living! Even Queen Haarima-jaan—”

“The queen is dead,” said the Brotherhood knight matter-of-factly. “Trinta is no longer a sovereign state.”

“And Brucia?” Ieduin asked, his voice tense.

The knight scowled at the mention of Brucia. “King Niall will be glad to hear of your defeat, Cock. Your Crows barely put up a resistance.”

That can’t be true.There were four thousand Crows still in Brucia, and they would have fought with everything they had. Rowan tried not to think of the implications, of what might have happened to Queen Eris and the other Crow commanders, how Ruith would respond if anything had happened to his fiancé. They could sort all of that out after. If they survived.

Rowan turned to Arington. “And you stand by this? Trinta was yourhome. Haarima-jaan was yourqueen. Your cousin!”

Arington’s lip twitched as if he were resisting the urge to sneer. “She laid with anelf,and withmages. Haarima-jaan was weak. Emperor Michal is the true ruler.”

“PrinceMichal is an entitled twat,” Rowan spat, “and a bastard with no claim to anything!”

“I don’t give two shits whose ass warms what throne,” Simeon growled, “so long as it’s not yours.”

Rowan’s attention snapped to Simeon. “Quiet, dog. Your betters are speaking.”

Simeon snarled back like an animal.

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