‘He’s not here,’ I said, my breastplate becoming too tight.General Toro said two days, and it was only a few hours till dawn.‘What if he doesn’t come?’Each breath became a struggle, as if my lungs had suddenly grown unfamiliar with the task.
‘Hey, this is not like you.’Atlas stood in front of me, putting a stop to my pacing.
I looked at him, trying to breathe normally.
He pulled me into his arms awkwardly, our armour clanging.‘Where is the girl who went into a raging river in the dark and survived?Where is the woman who entered a tournament and crushed every other competitor without even breaking a sweat?’Atlas looked deep into my eyes.‘Where is the woman who can turn a man into ash like the goddess Hecate herself?’he whispered.
‘I have a feeling something bad is going to happen,’ I whispered between gasps, meeting his steady gaze.
‘Something badisgoing to happen.You are going to kill and maim many people today.’Atlas smirked at me and my breathing slowly returned to normal.
A soldier called out.The general was here.
The introductions were brief, and Atlas and the general immediately began discussing tactics.
We would leave Danu now and strike Capita at dawn.
If the city’s gate was open, the Ephemeros soldiers would charge full force and take out all the guards at the wall and gate.If the gate was closed, they would use a battering ram, and archers would remove those on the wall.Once there was an opening, the general would send men over the wall to gain access from the other side.When the gate was open, our rescue party would enter the city.
The hope was that castle knights would hurry to defend the entrance, allowing us to move quickly and freely throughout the castle.
‘What about the dragon fire?’I asked.
‘Dragon fire?’asked the general.
We explained, with the help of Finn, the volatile fire weapon the Order had created.
He thought over our revelation before replying.‘I would expect them to be reluctant to use it unless they want to burn down their city.’
I hoped the general was right.
†
Nightmare huffed and snorted, blowing steam into the frosty morning air.Atlas and I were on a hill with his remaining men behind us.We watched as the Ephemeros army descended on Capita.
It appeared the general didn’t intend to start a war between the kingdoms, because his riders had red-and-blue capes flying out from behind them.It gave the impression that Lord Warwick’s depleted army had hired soldiers to get their captain back.I couldn’t help but admire the general’s guile.
We watched in anticipation as the soldiers reached the city gates.Even from this far back, we could hear sounds of panic escape the city walls.Nobody had dared to attack the king’s home city before.His army and the Order of Men had given people a false sense of security.I hoped Torgrin and Cillian could hear that I’d come back for them.
The sound of the battering ram reverberated around the valley.The gate had been closed, then.I smiled as General Toro’s archers sent arrows flying over the wall, and black-robed men tumbled off the sides.I doubted Merrick and the king would have expected me to return with an army and a battering ram.
It was time for us to join the fray.Atlas and I needed to make it to the dungeon with our men.Once we had Cillian and Torgrin, we would get clear of the castle before Tomas and Finn lit the dragon fire hidden beneath it.We had to be in and out as fast as possible, or risk being blown up.
Half the soldiers fell in behind me and Atlas as we rode.Tomas and Finn were leading the other unit.Tomas’s face was stony, and I mourned the loss of the nervous soldier with an immense talent for the bow.In his place was a hard-edged man who had suffered tremendous grief and was now out for blood.
No horse was as fast as Nightmare, and I had almost reached the fighting when I heard riders approaching behind our unit.My stomach sank when I glanced back to see King Hared’s guards coming out of the trees in droves.Atlas called out in alarm, and everyone halted their horses and turned to cover their backs.I unsheathed both my swords and held on to Nightmare with my knees.
The guards were upon us in an instant, and I began ferociously slashing away at our attackers with deadly force.Our swords bounced off their armour, but Atlas and his soldiers fought hard.We were pushing them back and making them scatter.
That was until the sky rained fire.
A ball of fire struck a nearby horse, and I watched in horror as it created a hole the size of my fist in its flank.I could see right through the poor animal to the trees on the other side.The horse stood eerily still as if the animal’s body did not know that it was dead.Then both horse and rider fell as one.
Nightmare screamed in panic as another fireball came close to us and singed her tail.I tried to halt the dragon fire with the Darkness, but it travelled too erratically for me to stop it.
‘Caris!’someone yelled.I looked around, but the smoke and noise made it impossible to pinpoint where it was coming from.
A horse bearing a king’s knight rode past, engulfed in flames.The Order’s dragon fire was indiscriminately hitting both sides.
