Page 79 of Oath of Betrayal
Vodianka was a small village in a nearby forest. It wasn’t a typical military target, and I hadn’t expected it to be attacked. The people who lived there were mainly foresters and their families who provided wood and animal pelts to the Lost Ridge.
They could deal with a bies on their own. One horned demon—even if it were as big as a bison, with massive hooves, claws, and fur that resisted most weapons—could be killed by a few determined woodcutters. However, if many of them had attacked, the village was doomed. I couldn’t even use dragons to fight them as the forest in the region was dense and high in natural resin, making it impossible to land.
‘There hasn’t been any movement reported on the border or across the Rift,’ I mused, confused. If this was the start of the war, I’d clearly missed something.
Were we wrong?
My brother had built his support slowly. As long as the Lich King thought he had a foot in our court, there was hope he would stall long enough for us to gather a decent-sized army. Weneeded time, and right now, Vodianka needed a fucking miracle for us to get there on time.
‘Get the kirbai and horses ready,’ I commanded, turning to Ari when he tapped my shoulder to get my attention. ‘I will come as well. It is time I stopped avoiding who I truly am. You will need a necromancer,’ Alaric said before I could even ask.
‘Annika, we should take her. It’s just …’ I let my silent question hang in the air. She could be of great help but throwing her in the middle of a battle right now could be risky.
‘No, let her rest. It is too early,’ he answered after considering it, and I nodded. ‘Let’s go then, and hope our Nivale is too busy to notice our absence,’ I quipped, remembering the last time I left her behind.
Iwas sitting in the forge wearing a pair of Bryna’s breeches and a pockmarked tunic while my friends waited, staring at me expectedly. I looked like a child trying on their parents’ clothes for fun, but as all my clothes were ash on the landing field, I’d been grateful for the loan.
‘So … what happened?’ Katja asked. Instead of answering, I pointed to the anvil I was sitting on. ‘Why did you bring me here? We could be sitting comfortably in my room.’
‘Because you almost burned the town down, and I thought it might be safer to bring you somewhere where the fire is less of a problem,’ Bryna said, and I felt a blush crawl up my cheeks.
‘It was an accident. My magic became a little … difficult, and I needed to reach Vahin,’ I answered defensively.
‘We’re not blaming you,’ Katja sighed. ‘We just want to know what happened and what we should do if it happens again.’
‘It won’t happen again. It was a side effect of a spell reversal. Long story short, to defeat the spectrae that attacked us whenwe flew here, I had to bond with Vahin. However, I wasn’t able to complete the process because I was still grieving for my lost Anchors. Alaric took the grief and some other feelings away, and today it all came rushing back.’ I shrugged, the both of them staring at me in shocked disbelief.
‘The fuck he did,’ Bryna finally said, whistling through her crooked teeth while Katja pulled a small vial from the pocket of her dress. ‘Here, this’ll calm you down,’ she said, and I laughed.
‘Oh no, sister. You’re not knocking me out again. Besides, I’m fine now.’
‘Are you sure? You were never the sanest at the best of times.’ Bryna was unyielding in pointing out my shortcomings, but it was Katja’s silence that worried me.
‘Last time, you needed two Anchors. Is the dragon enough?’ she asked, and when I frowned, she added, ‘I want to live here, Ani. There’s this dragon rider, Tomma … I like him. Besides, the commander offered me an apothecary position with a house and a workshop, and the men here—well, at least most of them—treat women with respect. I like it, and I don’t want you to burn this place down if you lose your shit again.’
‘Katja!’ Bryna sent her a quelling glare, but I nodded.
‘Need? … Maybe? Want more Anchors? Yes. Two more, to be precise.’
‘So, one will be that dark fae mage.’ When I raised an eyebrow at her definitive statement, she chuckled. ‘Don’t deny it. He looks at you like a starved dog looks at a bone, but who else? One of the healers? There’s that nice artefact master, but he’s too old, I think.’
‘Katja Laster, are you trying to push men into my bed? And no, it won’t be a healer. I’m going to Anchor the commander,’ I said, enjoying the moment their jaws dropped.
‘Why him? He’s not a mage, and he’s been acting like a bear with a stick rammed up its arse,’ Bryna was the first to comment, and I chuckled.
‘True, but I like him like that, and when he pulls that stick out, the fire that burns inside him?Gods, that man can growl.’
‘Soldiers have been gossiping that you’ve already had a little taste of that.’ Katja’s remark was met with a wide grin, and my friend sighed. ‘Fine, just try to keep things together. This place is heaven for women.’
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that soon, no place would be safe for women … or anything else still living.
We chatted for a few hours, sampling Bryna’s stash of orcish ale, and not only did my magic settle, but a pleasant contentment spread over me, as if everything had finally fallen into place.
A sudden commotion outside caught our attention, disturbing the peace. As I stood up to check what was going on, a red-faced soldier burst in and looked at Bryna. ‘Do you have any blades left?’
‘What for?’ she asked, and he huffed.
‘Just give them to me before the latawce drive more people insane.’
