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“Let’s head to the bomb range.” The general gestured in the direction of the open space that Farrendel had become familiar with during the several times he had gone there with Essie to practice his magic with her.
Farrendel continued to grip Essie’s hand as they strode in the large herd of people heading toward the bomb range.
At the bomb range, a line of Escarlish repeater guns was set up at the edge of the field. At the far end, a set of larger guns was also trained on the field.
Farrendel knew the strength of his magic, but that long line of shining guns was intimidating. He had nearly died from just one of those repeater guns. Now fifteen of them were trained on where he would be standing.
Several Escarlish soldiers stood by each of the repeater guns and the larger artillery guns, and all of them straightened and gave salutes, not relaxing until the generals saluted in return.
General Freilan gestured to the line of weapons. “All of the guns have been elevated so that they will be firing thirty feet above your head. It will still seem uncomfortably close, but you will be in no danger.”
Except if any of the Escarlish soldiers had the idea to lower the guns to point directly at him.
Some of Farrendel’s thoughts must have shown on his face, because General Freilan gave another gesture, this time in the direction of the men still standing at attention by the guns. “They have all been told exactly what will happen to them if they even think about letting those guns fall below the ordered elevation. Same with the artillery guns, which are set to fire fifty feet over your head. That flag over there marks the spot where you should stand to ensure you are safe by our calculations.”
Farrendel studied the field, where a blue flag flapped about a hundred yards away. He was not sure how much he trusted their calculations or these Escarlish soldiers. But that probably was not the point. He would have to trust his magic to protect him.
That, and the fact that Averett was present. It would be hard to prove that the death of an elf prince was accidental with the king, a whole bunch of generals, and the members of Parliament watching the whole proceedings.
General Freilan gave a slight cough in the back of his throat. “While none of us doubt your control of your magic, we would appreciate it if you do not lash out at the guns or destroy any of the munitions too close to our firing line. We want to keep this safe on both sides.”
It would be bad if any of the Escarlish spectators or soldiers were injured.
“I will not destroy any of the guns.” Farrendel glanced at Essie beside him.
Essie squeezed his hand, then turned to General Freilan. “As you will see in a moment, I have the ability to use Prince Farrendel’s magic, and I will be providing a shield over our heads to ensure that no shrapnel comes our way.”
General Freilan nodded, his gaze sharpening as he studied Essie. The magic sharing caused by the heart bond was not a secret. Some in the Escarlish army had seen it during their fight across Kostaria, and Essie had explained that rumors tended to fly among the army so that everyone knew at least some of it.
“In that case, let’s get started.” General Freilan gestured to Essie, Julien, and Averett. “Your Majesty, Your Highnesses. We have a place for you and your guards here.”
As the others moved away to their assigned place, Essie remained beside Farrendel. She gave him one of the part mischievous, part flirtatious smiles that made him think about kissing and holding her close and made the tips of his ears warm and probably turn pink.
She rested her hands on his chest, then stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss.
Was she trying to distract him? How was he supposed to concentrate and be his cold, deadly Laesornysh self with her kissing him like this?
Essie rocked back to her heels and patted his chest. “Like I said before, go out there, show off, and have fun.”
Fun was not something he would associate with his magic, not in this most deadly, potent form.
But, for her sake, he nodded and spun on his heels. He strode across the field, the back of his neck prickling with the feeling of so many eyes focused on him. But he kept his head high, his back straight, as he gathered the icy cold he used when going into battle.
At the flag, he halted, pulled two bits of moss from a tiny pocket in the side of the leather tunic, and tucked the moss into his ears to deaden the noise. With all those Escarlish guns and ordnance, things were going to get very loud in a few minutes.
With a deep breath, Farrendel turned around to face the long line of gleaming Escarlish guns pointed in his direction. Even though he knew those muzzles were pointed at the sky rather than directly at him, a shiver still shot into his stomach.
This was what he would have been facing had he not married Essie and secured the peace treaty between Escarland and Tarenhiel. Instead of a mere fifteen repeater guns and five artillery pieces, there would have been far more pointed into Tarenhiel. As he had feared, the Hydalla River would have run red with blood.
Instead, it had been Kostaria’s snow stained red. These glinting guns had pierced through the trolls’ ice and blizzards to route their armies.
General Freilan waved, probably to ask if Farrendel was ready.
Farrendel gave a sharp nod and bent his knees, keeping his body loose and ready. He called on his magic, dumping a bunch of it into the heart bond, before he let more of it flood into the air surrounding him.
Seconds later, he felt the tug as Essie drew on the magic in the heart bond. A crackling shield of his magic filled the air above the heads of the observers.
The soldiers behind the repeater guns tensed, then the air cracked with a harsh, deep chatter.
