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1
KIAN
Our journey to Swallow Island isn’t pleasant. For me, anyway. My brother, on the other hand, is looking forward to our parlay with the Ravenhawk clan.
My brother has always been a fool. I love him, but he is a fool.
“They’re traitors!” I insist. I have been repeating myself for the last hour, and I will continue to do so until Uli sees sense.
“You cannot live like this!” I can tell that my brother is finally starting to lose his patience with me. “You have to see the goodness in others! You cannot always assume the worst!”
We continue arguing until the boat we are in bumps up against the shore of Swallow Island.
The chieftain of the Ravenhawk clan, Uluruk, is there to meet us with several guards.
I immediately begin to examine our surroundings. This is just a habit I have cultivated over the years. It is always good to have an escape route planned at all times.
Why does he have so many guards? This isn’t a good sign.
The closer we get to the meeting place, the more I realize that my brother truly is an idiot. No one in their right mind would trust an orc like Uluruk. I keep my hand on the knife that is carefully sheathed in the leather belt that hangs loosely around my hips.
I hope they give me a reason to use it,I think to myself with dark glee.
I keep my attention focused on the guards and our surroundings while Uli and Uluruk have their discussion.
I interject once or twice, explosively, just to reinforce to my brother that this is a bad idea.
Uluruk watches our exchange, and I don’t miss the way his face is stretched into a grim smile.
But Uli doesn’t listen to me.
He never does. This is why you’re here, remember? To make sure that he doesn’t suffer too much from the stupid decisions that he makes.
My thoughts are as grim as the smile on Uluruk’s face. And that is when he offers us the wine.
He knows exactly what he is doing. All orcs love wine.
I can’t reject the wine. I can’t be too disrespectful, because if Uli actually manages to pull off this renegotiation then it will actually be good for both camps.
The wine is a beautiful blend, light and sweet.
And poisonous.
I feel the effects of it almost immediately.
I can hear my heart thudding unevenly in my ears, and I can feel it tripping along in my chest. My mouth is dry, and the hand holding the glass cannot hold it up for much longer. I hold onto the table with my free hand, but only for a second, as I drop the glass and slump to the floor.
From the corner of my eye, I watch as my brother and the guards we brought with us fall to the ground too.
They poisoned all of us! Uli, you fucking idiot!
But for some reason, I don’t feel very righteous about being right about this renegotiation.
Because I am quite sure that Uluruk’s plan is to kill my brother and take over as chieftain of the Risen Ash clan.
There isn’t much to be happy about.
The only person who can get us out of this safely now is me.
