Page 112 of Silver & Smoke
With a trembling hand, Wilder did as she bid.
She held her breath, watching with the others as the potion took hold of the Warsword before them, his body shuddering. He closed his eyes, jaw clenched, bracing himself against whatever war raged within.
Thea fell to her knees before her husband, grasping his hands. ‘Wilder?’
‘Give him a minute, Thee,’ Wren said gently, resting a hand on her sister’s shoulder.
Wilder’s chest heaved as he breathed through whatever sensations were coursing through him. The seconds stretched into eternity until finally, when he opened his eyes, they were clear.
‘I’m alright,’ he rasped, looking to Wren with dawning relief. ‘It worked—’
‘Wren!’ Kipp’s shout cut through the chaos around them, the edge in his voice making them all freeze. ‘Wren, come quickly!’
Cold dread washed over her. With her heart hammering wildly, Wren launched herself towards her friend, who was running ahead of her. Her boots slipped on blood-slicked stone as she sprinted after him, lungs burning – only to come to an abrupt stop at the entrance to the city.
A strangled noise escaped her as she looked out onto the field of roses.
The silvertide was aflame.
Silver petals blackened, curling in on themselves as hungry orange fire devoured their only hope against the darkness. The blaze spread in rippling waves across the field, consuming their salvation petal by petal, turning their cure to ash before her eyes.
CHAPTER 57
Wren
‘A true warrior knows a hundred ways to draw blood and a thousand reasons to hesitate before doing so. It is in this tension that true mastery of war resides’
– The Warsword’s Way
THE HEAT OFthe flames singed Wren’s skin. It was too late to stop it. Too late to flood the field with storm magic and save her one shot at curing Torj.
A sob broke from her lips as a chasm of grief opened up within. She could feel herself breaking, piece by piece, as the ashes of the silvertide drifted up into the wind around her.
Torj’s voice filled her mind.This is not the end.I promise you that, Embers. This is not the end.
Wren’s breath shuddered out of her as she fought back another sob, as she surveyed the scorched lands before her. They had won Dorinth, but at what cost? The victory was hollow without the means to a cure. Now, she would stand and defend a shell of a city, while she couldn’t save the man she loved.
Wren felt the eyes of a crowd on her, turning to find that her friends had gathered behind her, along with the commanders of their forces and the Devereuxs. She couldn’t let herself fallapart any more than she already had. The terror, the panic, would come, but it would come in the privacy of her own tent.
She pushed her shoulders back and lifted her chin. ‘I want scouts positioned on every high point, watching for Silas. We may have taken the city, but he’ll return in force,’ she told the Warswords. ‘We should search the castle ruins for any hidden intelligence or documents, anything that might help us understand his plans.’
Kipp was already ducking away from the company, disappearing into the ruins.
‘Cal,’ Wren called. ‘See to it that Dessa and Zavier remove that arrow and cleanse the wound. We’ll need you in the battle to come.’
The Master Alchemists came forwards then, Farissa’s brows knitting together in concern. But Wren spoke before her former mentor could voice her worry.
‘The cure worked on Wilder. I need every available alchemist working on producing more with the few supplies we have left and devising a strategy for how to distribute it across our ranks.’
‘We can do that,’ Master Norlander replied.
‘Of course,’ Master Crawford added. ‘And I’ll ensure we have more offensive alchemy in our supplies as well.’
‘We’re going to need it,’ Wren said, bowing her head in thanks. She could feel Farissa trying to catch her eye, but she slipped away.
Don’t fall apart, don’t fall apart,she chanted to herself as she wove through the debris of discarded weapons and shattered shields. Her words must have followed the bond to wherever the Bear Slayer was amid the ruins.
This is not the end, Embers, his voice bloomed in her mind, strong and unyielding.
