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“Hell…?”
“I don’t have time to teach you human colloquialism!”
“I apologize, but we do not know where they are. The attack was sudden and without mercy. My own father died protecting your family and even then I was only able to aid your brother and his family’s escape. Eldgrim was on some religious pilgrimage. Skadi was with her own band of mercs to the south. Helga and Astrid were at your castle before the attack. I believe Stieg was set to join Eldgrim half way through his journey. The rest I do not know. We had barely escaped with our lives.”
"Take me to my brother," I demanded.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THORSTEN
The royal medic's tent reeked of blood and infection, the cloying stench burning my throat. My noble brother lay pale and feverish, one leg deeply gashed and the stump of his severed sword arm bandaged tightly. Guilt lanced through me at the sight.
At my voice, Radorgirn's azure eyes fluttered open. "Brother...you came home..." he rasped in disbelief.
I gripped his remaining hand. "I am here. Váli told me what happened. I swear Falka’s head will roll."
Radorgirn coughed weakly. "That’s what I need to hear. You better earn your way back into this family after breaking mother’s heart.” His voice gained a fragment of its old steely edge. “She was inconsolable after we thought you died. You have no idea how much she cried when the others returned and told her you weren’t among them.”
"I thought of her, of you all for so long. My choice to stay in the human world wasn’t made lightly.”
“No matter.” He struggled to reach for the golden crown of twisted vines and leaves. When I reached over to help, he slapped my hand away. He was always so proud. Even now in his condition he refuses help. He finally gripped the crown and tried to pass it to me but …I couldn’t bring myself to take it.
"Put it on and go out there and rally the camp. Setting our camp close to the Dökkálfar has given Falka pause to attack us. He’s a fool but not so foolish as to make an enemy of them. But our time is running out. My spies say that he could attack the camp now that you are here.”
“Surely you won’t die over these wounds.”
“If we don’t get a healer here soon, my fate is sealed. This wound festers..." Radorgirn's eyes bore into mine. "The kingdom needs you, Thorsten."
“I have a family now. If I can safely get them to my castle in Gel’Kardia—”
“We don’t have time for that! You think I want my family in this miserable place? You must take it!”
Before I could answer the ground shook and the sounds of screams from the soldiers outside rattled me. Several guards entered the tent with their swords drawn and Váli at the head. “Who am I protecting?” his eyes shifted from me to Rado. I knew that if I became King, I would become a priority for the guardsmen to rally to, but what of Rado? During times of crisis, all non-essential members of the royal family were given a token guard or none at all depending on the circumstances. “Rado is still your King! Protect him!” I ordered before rushing from the tent to reach Kal and the twins.
My thoughts were plagued with doubts. ‘Had I made the right call?’ and ‘Could I have used the guards to protect my own family?’ These questions swirled in my mind. I wasn’t sure how to process everything I had heard. And right now, wasn’t the time. But becoming King was never something I had ever expected at all. I was the youngest of fourteen children and prone to sickness. I was the last person anyone should ever expect to wear that crown. The fact that it was being passed to me meant that our family had truly fallen, taking it would be cementing that truth.
With each pounding footstep, my heart raced faster. The cacophony of clashing steel and guttural cries echoed through the camp, drowning out any semblance of order. I felt the cold sweat of fear beading on my brow as I burst into the main tent where Kal, William, and my children had been waiting. But they were nowhere to be seen. My stomach twisted into knots – if anything happened to them...
I couldn't afford to waste a moment. Rushing back outside, I saw Esmian soldiers in their teal and gold banners, desperately fending off the relentless onslaught of the Undvik warriors. An abandoned sword caught my eye, and without hesitation, I snatched it up. Its hilt was slick with blood, but its blade was still sharp and deadly.
"Kal! Where are you?" I screamed over the din of battle, my voice strained with desperation. Every fiber of my being burned with urgency as I fought my way towards the portal tent, cutting down enemy soldiers who dared cross my path. My chest tightened, and a wave of nausea threatened to consume me, but I refused to give in. I needed to reach Kal and my children before they unwittingly stepped through the lethal portal.
As I advanced, a flash of movement caught my attention – an Undvik soldier was about to strike down William. Adrenaline surged through my veins, propelling me forward like a lightning bolt. With a swift, brutal stroke, I cleaved the Undvik warrior in two. His lifeless body crumpled to the ground, staining the earth with dark crimson.
"Are you alright, William?" I asked, trying to help him to his feet. But he was too wounded to stand. Blood seeped through his tattered clothes, and his face was ashen.
"Thorsten, don't worry about me," he gasped, his breath ragged. "Find Kal and the kids."
"Where are they?" I demanded, my voice cracking with anguish.
"I don't know," William admitted, his eyes haunted. "I lost sight of them in the chaos." A war drum thumping in my chest, and a cold dread settled over me.
"Listen to me, William," I said urgently, my gaze locked onto his. "The portal will kill them if they go through it. They mustn't use it."
"Thorsten," William wheezed, holding a hand to his chest as I supported him. "What I don't understand."
"William, I don't have time to explain!" I snapped, my eyes darting around the battlefield, searching desperately for any sign of Kal and the children. "Where is Kal?"
