Page 55 of A Crown of Lies

“Our stores are not so low that we can deny a man his last meal, if that’s the case.” He patted the guard on the shoulder. “The Crow commanders and I will get to the bottom of who he is. Relay the order.”

The guard waved to a few men below and shouted the order down to them while Rowan made his way back into the courtyard, which had been transformed into a large practice yard.

He waited for a column of men and Crows to march by. His people were taking to the training better than expected. He thought they might balk at taking orders from mercenaries, but Ieduin had chosen a series of effective captains, who seemed to catch on quickly that they couldn’t be treated like normal soldiers.

Soldiers drilled twelve hours a day. Greymarkers would have slit their throats if they’d been denied frequent breaks to lean around and talk. The Crows didn’t tolerate any insubordination, though. When it was time to work, they made sure the Greymarkers knew it, and any man who didn’t listen found himself in the unfortunate position of peeling vegetables with the women. Even as they marched, there was chatter in the ranks. The Crows didn’t seem to care as long as they could hold formation.

“It seems there’s an unannounced visitor on his way here,” Rowan said, jogging back up to Ieduin and Rixxis.

Rixxis frowned. “Who?”

“No idea. That’s what the three of us are going to spend the afternoon finding out. I gave orders to have him fed and warmed up. By the time we get there, he should be amicable. From the looks of things, he’s been out in the cold without so much as a cloak. It could be he’s just a passing traveler who fell on hard times.”

“If so, he’s probably got news about where we can find more bandits.” Ieduin gulped down the rest of his coffee. “Maybe this time, we’ll get to them before this so-called Wild Hunt shows up to mess up my plans again.”

They started for the entrance to the castle, dodging groups of men training and sparring.

“You know, Ieduin, there’s no reason for you to take this Wild Hunt business so personally,” Rowan said.

Ieduin snorted. “Isn’t there? I’m here to help you win this war, and I intend to earn my keep. How am I supposed to do anything if some god swoops in to soak up all the glory?”

Rixxis raised an eyebrow at him. “You wanted that fight?”

“Hell, yes, I did. But not just me. We’ve got over a thousand mercenaries here itching for action, Rixxis. They’ve been cooped up behind Brucia’s walls for half a year with nothing to do but train. We promised them a fight. If we don’t deliver on that soon, we’ll start having to worry about deserters and discontent in the ranks.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.” Rowan rubbed his temples, trying to ward off the headache he knew would manifest by the end of the day. He needed to rest, and this visitor’s appearance was going to rob him of his nap.

There was a small squeal as they came through the palace doors and Hamlet trotted up. Without missing a beat, Rowan scooped up the pig and kept walking. Hamlet nestled in against his chest.

“There’s more to being a mercenary than a steady paycheck,” Ieduin went on. “For some people, I guess that’s the draw, but a lot of them join up because they want adventure. They want to fight, to see the world. Have the chance to prove themselves as heroes. They can’t do that sitting behind these walls, or running marching drills all day. A mercenary needs to fight, just like a bird needs to fly. It’s just who they are. Explaining to a bunch of war-hardened veterans that they don’t get the fight I promised them because some ghosts and goblins got there first…”

“Perhaps an extra allotment of celebratory cider from the stores will ease the news,” Rowan suggested.

The elf huffed out a breath. “It’d help.”

Rowan drew up as Ewan came around the corner in a quick march. The old carpenter looked almost as tired as him, but he was red-faced, and his brow creased. “They may get their chance at battle sooner than expected,” the king said to Ieduin.

“Rowan!” Ewan shouted before he ever got close. “Lucky I found you so quickly. There’s been movement to the north.”

“Trinta?” Rowan’s heart sped up.

They’d known about the force amassing there for weeks on the Trintan side. It was the only angle from which Trinta might have the advantage. Their march would be difficult and treacherous, but if they managed it before the first snow, they could easily overtake Greymark before their forces were ready. They had to hold them off.

“Aye, and there’s worse news.” Ewan held out a small paper. “There’s an army massing elsewhere made up of men from all the other Free Cities.”

“What other men of the Free Cities?” Ieduin scoffed and took the paper rather than letting Rowan have it. “Half of them don’t have a fucking army.”

“Greymark didn’t have an army either until four days ago,” Rowan reminded him. “Under what banner are they uniting?”

Ewan shook his head. “The banner of the Eight Divines. Word’s gotten out that Greymark’s opened her doors to rebel mages and elves.”

“The Divines?” Rixxis paled. “But they’d need the backing of the Brotherhood and Sir Ben—”

“Word is, there was an organized assault by loyalists and backed by the Trintan crown to retake the Citadel,” Ewan said. “All the knights who’d agreed to the reforms set down by Sir Isaac and Sir Benjamin are dead or missing, Sir Ben among them. They’re rounding up mages or anyone accused of being a mage in the streets and executing them.”

“Just on the accusation?” Rowan felt sick. “And the queen isallowingthis?”

“She may not have a choice,” Ieduin said, frowning. “The Brotherhood might have listened to Zaidan, but Haarima-jaan was always the weaker pick between the two, and she’s not even in Trinta right now, remember? She went to Ostovan to take part in the peace talks. If the Brotherhood zealots have seized the Citadel, and public support is with them, she’ll have no choice but to back their play or look weak. You weakened her position when you declared independence. Ten to one, other lords are considering doing the same.”

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