Page 106 of Oath of War
‘Lady Annika will be attending tonight’s war council meeting,’ Reynard said, unexpectedly coming to my rescue. ‘We need to plan the attack on Katrass, and I can’t lose her expertise for a walk down the road.’
‘Of course, Your Majesty.’
After that, we discussed several more minor matters before I finally sent them away. Alone with my brother, I leaned back in my chair, gesturing for him to take a seat.
‘How bad is it? With Ani? Can she fight?’ he asked.
I rubbed my tense neck. ‘Is that why you’re really here? To ask if she can kill more monsters for you?’
‘Cut the bullshit, Orm. I care for Annika, but I’m responsible for eighty thousand men and have almost no supplies left. We need to finish this or set up a permanent base here so I can send back the injured and resupply. Can you blame me for asking if we can resolve this in one fell swoop?’ Reynard asked, pulling a flask from his pocket. ‘Here, maybe this will mellow you out.’
I drank heavily from the flask. The burning in my throat and taste an unmistakable sign that Reynard had gotten hold of some soldier’s moonshine, distilled from the gods know what.
‘I’m not ... Fuck! Annika is ... She will fight if you ask her to, but unless the situation is dire, I won’t ask. Katja’s death hit her hard. Don’t force her hand. Please. I’m asking as your brother.’
‘I don’t want to, but I may have no choice. After Annika mentioned the golems, no one’s been able to think of anything else. For fuck’s sake, even Valaram voiced his concerns.’
Reynard watched me, waiting for my reaction, so I finished his thought for him.
‘And you think the reason our progress has been so easy is that Cahyon has pulled everything back behind the city walls, and that we should get ready for a nasty surprise or a long siege?’
‘Yes. The question is, what are we going to do about it?’
‘Catch a few who come our way, interrogate their scrawny arses—or ask politely if they’re friendly—and then decide. Why?’ I asked.
He looked like he had something to say.
‘I guess I could ask someone else to do that and send you to Katrass with Vahin instead,’ he suggested. ‘Have you see for yourself if the walls are still standing and whether there are any visible defences.’
‘Guess? Just tell me what you want me to do.’
‘Fine.’ He sighed. ‘Go to Katrass. And if there is anything I can do for Annika, let me know—maybe the light fae healers could help?’
Reynard had good intentions, but I burst out laughing.
‘If you could get them close enough to even touch her,’ I said with a sigh of my own. ‘Ani has refused even Valaram, and he’s someone she tolerates. No, we just have to wait.’
I pulled back the flap of my tent and walked outside. We were camped in a meadow and looking at the almost flat field of autumn grass and purple heather, I felt strangely at peace.
‘You’re leaving?’ Reynard asked.
I nodded without taking my eyes off the fleeting beauty of autumn. ‘Yes. I’ll see you this evening. Keep an eye on Ani. I entrust her well-being to you while I’m gone.’
It was his turn to laugh then.
‘You mean you entrust her to look after mine? Brother, your woman is a military marvel; if only she learned how to follow orders.’
I knew Reynard meant it as a joke, but I didn’t laugh. He didn’t really know her, and because of that, for him, Annika would always be a weapon of war, while all I could see were the tears in the eyes of my heartbroken Nivale.
‘Vahin.’
I said it aloud for Reynard’s benefit, and when my dragon descended from the sky, I turned, placing my hand on my brother’s shoulder.
‘Just look after her for me.’
Istood, my feet rooted to the spot, looking at the brown wagon parked alone on a carpet of wildflowers next to the small sandy bank of the nearby river.
It looked so ... ordinary, and yet, I knew it was perfect.
