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"You have my word," Cassair assured me.
Minutes later, we were saddled and ready to go. Warriors stood to the side with tense expressions on their faces. It hadn't surprised me to find out that each warrior under me had volunteered, but I insisted on only taking the ones who weren't mated yet.
The rest stood stone-faced, watching our departure as the giant drawbridge was lowered over the massive moat filled with molten quicksand that was brought up from deep within Thyre's core.
Kar, I nodded to myself,Grymburg will be safe. Not even an army double the strength the Vandalls brought will be able to breach her defenses. They could only starve the inhabitants to death. But with a well that ran down underneath Grymburg, we wouldn't run out of water and the Dark Sea teemed with fish we could catch even from the stronghold.
It would be hard times for everybody within the walls, but they would be alive, and they would make it until support arrived. Which I had no doubt would. It had to because the alternative was unthinkable. If I allowed myself even for one moment to imagine what would happen to Alahna, I would dishonor myself and slay the Vandall leader where he stood.
I stroked Vespa with my gloved hands over the long side of his neck. I turned in the saddle to look over what was exposed of the grim faces of my entourage and raised my fist into the air. I circled it twice and pushed my knees against Vespa's sides. It was time to go.
The drawbridge creaked and groaned underneath the many horse's hooves but held as it had always done.
I didn't slow to listen to it rising behind us, instead, I focused on the path that led downward to the beach where the Vandall ship had dropped anchor now and where the first forms were disembarking to meet me at the shore.
There's only a handful, but that might be a trick to lure me in,I thought, leading Vespa down the path he and I knew well, had ridden a thousand times and once with Alahna.
A grim smile curved my slowly freezing lips. I had planned on taking Alahna on many more beach rides and prayed the gods would be merciful today and allow me and my warriors to live to make good on that plan.
Vespa snorted and steam rose from his nostrils. He liked being out in the cold as little as I did, even considering that he had to be antsy after being cooped up for so long. This was our first ride in weeks.
The cold was creeping up my arms despite the three layers of clothes I had put on. The only part of me not cold were my ass and legs, thanks to Vespa's body heat keeping me warm.
Five males were moving forward now on the shore, one taller than the others and dressed in finery, leaving me to assume that he was the leader. I raised my hand to halt my guards. If the Vandall leader came only accompanied by four males, I would not ride up with a hundred. I would go alone.
This might be a trap, I cautioned myself, but couldn't see how. The other ships had stayed well back and unless the Vandalls had an army waiting underneath the waves, there was nowhere for them to hide besides the one ship. But even that would only hold so many, not the number of warriors the Vandalls would need to overcome me and my guards.
Well, I was about to find out as I nudged Vespa forward.
Theairwasthickwith tension when we reentered the great hall. After the cold dampness of the basement, the hall felt almost oppressively warm with its five fireplaces going.
Grian still stood where I left him, surrounded by servants whom he barked orders at like a general during a battle, which for him it probably was, or as close to it as he would ever get.
He and I hadn't often seen eye to eye, and I would always hold a grudge against him for having wanted Cisco dead, but I did respect the way he was taking charge and doing so with confidence. All his orders were sensible and things were being taken care of.
The first refugees from the city began to stream in, greeted by servants, and taken to the basement. Other servants were already on their way down, holding trays filled with hot soup, tea, and bread.
I was aware of the precariousness of our situation, had heard tales of the brutal deeds of the Vandalls, but even still, the atmosphere was tenser than I would have expected, and I didn't like the looks I received from courtiers and servants I passed. Something was up, something more besides the imminent threat of the Vandalls.
"Grian," I greeted the steward, whose usually baleful, glaring eyes conveyed something more like pity, and a hard lump settled in my stomach.
"Lady Alahna, I thought you would be on the ramparts."
"Ramparts? No, I was in the basement. We need to get some things fixed and—" I broke off at seeing his expression soften. "What is happening?”
"Forgive me, Lady Alahna. It's not my place to say." He shook his head and shooed a servant away with questions about more furs.
I fisted my hands and pushed them onto my hips to make my five-foot-two frame look more imposing to the over six-foot Thyre. "Tell me what I need to know."
"Warlord Brogan rode out to meet the leader of the Vandalls," he said with honest regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry."
I swallowed. The way he said it and the words,I'm sorry, conveyed what he thought fate had in store for Brogan.
With a cry of dismay, I snatched another fur off one of the servants' stacks and rushed to the hallway that would take me to the stairway going up to the ramparts.
The ramparts circled the entire stronghold, but I had a pretty good idea that I needed to get to the south battlements where I would have a view of the Dark Sea.
The moment I flung the door to the outside open, cold air hit me like a slap in the face. I hadn't been outside in days, and it seemed like it had only gotten worse. Even though the strongholds' inside never fully heated, I forgot just how brutal the cold season was. Even more so here by the coast than the inland where I grew up.
