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A white flag went up, and since a lifeboat was being lowered, it was clear someone wanted to talk. Oriel gave the order to have a lifeboat prepped so he could meet them, and Roth would go.
“I’ll come too,” said Aspen. “Give me a crossbow that I can channel with.”
“You don’t have to.” Oriel was rather surprised that Aspen had come out on deck at all considering all of the strange men about.
“If we’re all going to rule, I need to try and do stuff too.”
“You can also stay behind too if you’d prefer it.”
“Well, I don’t.”
Aspen probably would rather go hide in the cabin and be alone if he couldn’t be with them in there, but he kept himself planted in front of Oriel.
“I don’t want to be a leech,” Aspen mumbled.
“Has that been bothering you? You saved Roth from drowning quite recently, and you came a long way to get us. You’re hardly a leech.”
“Still, I want to come.”
“Okay, but you’re not a leech, and you never have been.” Oriel kissed the side of his temple.
Aspen didn’t look too comfortable with the heavy crossbow he’d been given, but he didn’t complain. Ones to channel magic were always made from metal. They all had weapons, and Oriel stayed near the prow of the boat as it went to meet the other side.
A Commander in magnificent sky-blue armor stood in the lifeboat and didn’t seem to have a weapon, although Oriel had no idea what sort of magic he had. He called out a greeting as they neared. Oriel returned it and kept his expression hard.
“You can call me Domal,” said the Commander. “I’m sure you’ve destroyed most of Asara’s army.”
“We have prisoners,” said Oriel. “But many died too.”
Domal glanced back at what was left of Asara’s army. If Oriel gave the order, they wouldn’t last too long in a fight. “I’d rather surrender if possible. We were following our Queen’s orders as any soldier should do.”
“I’ve been trying to protect those I love and our army as a good King would do,” said Oriel. “Asara’s betrayal made that far more difficult.”
Domal’s shoulder sagged. “We won’t win if we keep following her orders. There are good men on our ships.” He jerked his thumb behind him. “They have spouses and children. Siblings. Parents. We didn’t decide to enter this war or to betray you. That was Asara. I’m asking you to let us surrender and live so that we can end this now, and some people on Windswept Isles can see those men again. It’s unloyal of me, but we’ve already lost, and I’d prefer to spare lives.”
Oriel gripped the hilt of his sword. Asara was the root, and this band of leftovers wasn’t going to get revenge for her.
“Very well. You’ll be left alive as long as you follow orders. You will take your ships further out and let us surround you. One wrong move, and you’ll be fired upon from all sides.”
“Done.”
“Did she really think that she could defeat us so easily with what’s left? Did she make no plans in case we lived through that betrayal and continued?”
“I-I don’t know,” said Domal. “She doesn’t tell us her plans. She gave us orders and what we needed to know to carry them out. I don’t know of any contingency plans. I’m assuming she’s at home now, but I could be quite wrong.”
“Does she have another country on her side? If we land and head up there, is there an army waiting for us?” Ships could have come from the opposite side of Wind’s Respite.
Domal shook his head. “I know of no such thing.”
Oriel narrowed his eyes. Domal appeared honest, but some people were excellent liars. Asara had fooled him, but maybe Domal truly knew of nothing. She might have simply put too much confidence in her plans and didn’t create a decent backup to salvage her position and life.
Perhaps she was ready to meet death since she’d made a huge gamble and lost.
“We’ll tell you when you can dock,” said Oriel.
“Are we really going to simply go up there, deal with her, and be done with this?” Aspen asked as the rowers took them back. “It seems too…easy.”
Oriel glanced toward land. “I don’t have a good feeling.”
