Defender of Crowns, page 13
Eda watched her mother and sister over her shoulder until their faces blurred. Then Blake let go of Candace and signed, Stand tall and strong, warrior.
Eda blinked back tears as she faced forwards. Roul had slowed his horse and was waiting for her to catch up to the group. He said nothing as her horse fell into step with his.
An hour later, they reached the outer-wall. It all felt new to Eda, who rarely went to that part of the borough, because everything she needed and loved was in the opposite direction. The portcullis was heavily guarded, with defenders both on the ground and watching from the wall above. As they approached the gate, Roul looked at her.
‘I need you to be the soldier we trained you to be on the other side of that wall. From this point, I’m no longer your friend, I’m your commander. That’s the only way this works. That’s how I keep everybody alive. Are we clear?’
She understood the pressure he felt to keep everyone safe. ‘Yes, Commander.’
‘You stay in my sight at all times. If anything happens to you, the entire mission is lost.’
‘I know.’
A guard came forwards to speak with Roul. ‘It’s been very quiet these past few days. You should make it to the forest without incident.’
Tatum and Blackmane exchanged a look as the guard signalled to a defender atop the wall. A moment later, the portcullis began to rise.
Roul gestured to the group to proceed, and they walked their horses towards the rising portcullis, the noise cutting through the stillness of dawn. When it came to a stop, the only sound was the soft clap of hooves on the path.
Eda stared ahead at the heavy fog they were about to enter. She could not look away. Every muscle in her body tensed as they were swallowed up by the heavy mist. When the portcullis lowered behind them, Roul signalled for Tatum to watch east, Alveye west, and for Blackmane to fall back.
Mud sucked at the horses’ hooves, causing them to trip on the changing terrain. Eda could see they were travelling on what was once a road but was now a jungle of ragwort and creeping thistle. She glanced over her shoulder at the wall, barely able to make out the defenders atop it.
‘We’ll be entering the forest in about five miles,’ Roul said quietly beside her. ‘We’ll have more protection then.’
‘I can’t decide if the cloud cover is good or bad,’ Eda replied.
Tatum glanced in her direction. ‘It’s both.’
A red kite passed overhead, its long wings flashing into view. Blackmane’s horse sidestepped, and Alveye’s emitted a low whinny.
‘Easy,’ Blackmane said.
The other horses seemed to feed off the nervous energy, their heads and tails lifting. Eda stroked the silky neck of her horse in an attempt to calm him.
The red kite appeared again, lower this time, swooping past Hadewaye. His horse stopped, front legs lifting off the ground. Blackmane reached for his bow, loaded it, and pointed it at the sky.
‘He’s probably hungry,’ Alveye said. ‘He’s seeing if we have anything he might want.’
‘Better put your hood up, Suttone,’ Tatum said with a smirk. ‘You’ll be in trouble once he realises he can lift you.’
Eda glanced in his direction. ‘And here I was thinking it would fall to me to provide comedic relief.’ Still, she tugged the hood of her cloak up.
It was another hour before the ground evened out and trees appeared on the horizon. There was no visible path into the forest, so Roul forged one. They moved in single file through the trees, Roul at the front and Eda behind him, then Tatum, Hadewaye, Alveye, and Blackmane at the back. He had finally relaxed enough to put his bow away. Nothing moved in the trees, the occasional call of a bird the only sign of life.
It was almost noon when they emerged on the other side of the forest. The cloud had finally lifted, so they could see what was ahead of them now: long grass and weeds all the way to the horizon. They had yet to encounter a person outside the walls they had built.
‘We’ll stop here for a bit,’ Roul said, pulling his horse up and dismounting. ‘Do your business, stretch your legs.’
The men dispersed to relieve themselves. Eda led her horse away from the group in search of privacy. She stopped when she stepped on something hard. When she looked down, she saw she was standing on a large bone. There was an identical one beside it. They led to more bones, and her heart sped up as she recognised a human skull with an arrow through it. She took a quick step back.
‘That’s what happens to people who are too proud to piss in front of an audience.’
Eda whipped her head around at the sound of Roul’s voice.
‘What did I tell you about leaving my sight?’
‘Sorry.’ She turned her horse, heading back in the direction she had come. ‘I can hold it.’
Roul caught her arm when she stepped past him. ‘We’re not stopping again until we make camp.’
She looked down at the large hand holding her, the memory of those fingers tangled in her hair still fresh in her mind. Roul let go.
‘I’ll watch your horse,’ he said.
Eda shook her head and continued past him. ‘I’m fine. Let’s go.’
Chapter 19
Roul watched Eda squirm in the saddle for nearly four hours before he could not take it anymore. They were travelling through open land with nothing but animal carcasses for cover.
‘Dismount, Suttone,’ Roul said. ‘The rest of you, eyes west.’
For once, Eda did not object. Swallowing her pride, she slipped from her horse and danced around while she unbelted her trousers. Only when she climbed back onto her horse did Roul look at her.
‘Next time you go when the rest of the group goes.’
Her cheeks coloured. ‘Yes, Commander.’
They reached the forest late in the afternoon. Roul was thankful for the cover of trees once more. It was better than spending the night out in the open, which would have left them vulnerable. He looked up at the long-reaching sequoia branches as they rode beneath them. It was not uncommon for rebels to drop from the trees, tackling riders to the ground and then riding off on their horses.
When they came across a stream, Roul veered his horse left, heading alongside it until he found a clearing big enough for their tent.
‘We’ll set up camp here,’ Roul said, pulling up his horse and looking over his shoulder at the others. ‘If the rain gets heavy overnight, at least the tent won’t flood.’
The light was beginning to fade as the group dismounted. They tethered their horses to nearby trees and took a moment to stretch. Eda stifled a yawn as she unbuckled her saddle and dragged it off her tired horse. It almost weighed as much as her. He had to stop himself from going to help her.
Hadewaye and Alveye erected the tent while Blackmane and Tatum went to see if they could scavenge anything to eat alongside their food rations. While Roul was lighting the fire, Eda fed and watered the horses, then went to the stream for a wash. She returned with a few large rocks, which she placed in the fire. They would help to keep the tent warm overnight.
Blackmane and Tatum returned with some lemon sorrel and aureate grubs. Tatum sank down beside Eda and opened his hand, revealing the grubs.
‘I brought you dinner.’
Eda looked down at the squirming insects, then reached for one, tossing it into her mouth and chewing. ‘Thanks.’
Alveye’s eyes widened. ‘I really didn’t think you’d eat that.’
‘How do you think I survived locked in the merchant borough with no food?’
Tatum looked impressed as he handed the grubs to the others.
‘What was it like stuck in there for all that time?’ Hadewaye asked.
Eda shrugged. ‘You smelled the corpses from the nobility borough, did you not?’
Roul looked at the fire. He had arrived in Chadora prepared to play whatever role he needed to for the sake of his family, but he had not been prepared for the fallout of King Oswin’s death. He had done what he could, collecting mussels for the children and tossing them through the port gate. But it had not been enough. He had not been acquainted with the Suttone family at that time, but he saw the impact their suffering had on Harlan.
Blackmane stared at Eda across the fire. ‘You telling me your family survived on insects?’
‘Insects and blind hope.’ She picked up the lemon sorrel and dropped it into a small pan with some of the butter from their rations. The wilted leaves did not amount to much, but combined with some salted pork, they had a meal.
Roul noticed that Eda gave herself the smallest portion of everything. ‘That’s not enough for you,’ he told her across the flames.
She shrugged. ‘I’m half the size of the rest of you.’
He tore off a portion of his pork and held it out for her. ‘Here.’
With a sigh, Eda took it and ate.
With their stomachs no longer growling, they settled into a comfortable silence, enjoying the warmth of the fire as the temperature continued to drop.
‘Blackmane,’ Hadewaye said. ‘Why don’t you tell us a Morrigan story?’
The defender’s gaze slid to the youngest recruit. ‘I’m not your fucking governess, and you’re too old for bedtime stories.’
Tatum and Alveye stifled a laugh.
‘I wouldn’t have picked you for the storyteller of the group,’ Eda said.
‘His grandfather was Irish,’ Tatum said. ‘He knows every myth and folktale from that part of the world.’
Hadewaye nodded in agreement. ‘The Morrigan was a goddess who could change form and influence wars.’
‘Before he passed, my father told me the story of the battle between Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorions,’ Eda said, looking back at Blackmane. ‘Do you know it?’
Blackmane let out a resigned breath and sat up a little straighter. ‘The Morrigan prophesied that the Tuatha Dé Danann would win the battle but that their victory would come at a terrible price. She foretold that she would slay the Fomorion king Indech and bring two handfuls of his blood and kidneys to the River Unshin.’
The group listened as Blackmane spoke of how the gods gathered for the Second Battle of Moytura. ‘Lugh asked the Morrigan what she’d brought with her.’
‘Pursuit, death, and subjugation,’ Eda said quietly.
Blackmane nodded, then continued with details of the bloodbath that followed, how the Morrigan’s grandfather Nuada was slain, and her husband, the Dagda, was mortally wounded. Finally, the Morrigan joined the fray, ending the battle with her prowess and a poem. ‘The Fomorions fled from her and perished in the sea,’ he finished.
The group sat contemplating the story in the dark, the only light that of the flames now. Eda was hugging her knees in an attempt to keep warm.
‘All right. Story time is over,’ Roul said. ‘I’ll take first watch. Blackmane, you’ll take the second. Then Tatum, Alveye, Hadewaye, and Suttone.’
Eda sat a little straighter. ‘Why am I last?’
Roul’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
Realising her mistake, Eda shook her head. ‘Never mind.’
‘You can swap with me if it makes you feel like more of a man,’ Tatum said. ‘I’m happy to sleep for longer.’
‘Suttone will follow orders,’ Roul said, picking up his waterskin and the dirty pan. ‘I’m going to the creek.’
Eda reached for her bow. ‘I’ll come with you. Someone has to watch your back in the dark while you’re scrubbing dishes.’
Roul gave a small nod of approval.
The pair walked down to the water in silence. Roul crouched by the creek while Eda watched the trees around them. After rinsing the pan, he filled his waterskin, then gestured for hers. She passed it to him without taking her eyes off their surroundings.
‘You could’ve stayed by the fire,’ he said as he handed it back to her.
‘But we promised to take care of each other, remember?’
He smiled at the water. ‘I remember.’ After having a wash, he rose and looked around. ‘It’s strange being this side of the wall again.’
She glanced at him. ‘Just think, this time tomorrow you’ll be reunited with your family.’
It was a surreal thought after so many years of separation. Roul had suggested the group spend their second night in Carno to Queen Fayre, and she had agreed. Of course she had. She owed him a visit with his family.
‘I can’t wait to see their faces when they see you,’ Eda said, a smile on her lips.
He loved that she was excited on his behalf. He was more nervous than anything else, because every letter he had received from his family since his departure had spoken of the rise of crime and decay of their village. They had been forced to keep the aid they received a secret to avoid attracting attention. The only people who knew were friends also benefiting from the arrangement. His family were not the kind of people to live well while others suffered around them. They took what they needed in order to survive and discreetly distributed the rest. But it was nowhere near enough to sustain an entire village. Roul suspected his heart would be both full and broken in the same visit.
‘Time for you to get some sleep,’ he said, taking a step in the direction of the camp.
She began walking. ‘I saw you put your things at the far end of the tent. Was that deliberate?’
The answer was yes. Lying beside her, not touching, would be a special kind of torture. ‘I trust Hadewaye to keep his hands to himself.’
‘But not you?’
He glanced at her. ‘I’m not answering that.’
She shook her head. ‘Well, I hope Hadewaye likes to snuggle, because it’s very cold away from the fire.’
‘There will be no judgement on my part if I find the pair of you spooning.’ The sound of her laughter warmed him.
When they reached the tent, he turned to her. ‘Thanks for having my back down there.’
‘You don’t have to thank me. I’ll always have it.’
The sincerity in her eyes had him looking away. ‘Goodnight, Suttone.’
‘Goodnight, Commander.’
Roul was finishing his watch and was about to go wake Blackmane when he saw a shadow pass over the tent. He stepped back from the fire, a hand going to the hilt of his sword. If one of his unit had risen to relieve themselves, they would have surely said something to avoid a sword in the back.
He waited, watching and listening.
Then he felt it. The gentle weight of someone watching him.
His gaze snapped to the flap of the tent when it moved, eyes meeting Eda’s. Whatever he had seen, whatever he was sensing, she had seen and felt it too. Now she was waiting for him to confirm it. He responded with the slightest nod. Then the flap moved again, and she was gone.
Roul stepped back from the fire and into the shadows, darkness falling like a cloak of safety over him. His ears strained to catch any thread of noise.
Snap.
A twig breaking underfoot made him look back at the tent. A dark figure appeared, casting a long shadow over the canvas. Roul lifted his sword, ready to throw it, but an arrow burst through the tent before he had a chance, striking the intruder through the chest. The defenders emerged then, weapons in hand. Eda had managed to rouse them with little fuss. She and Hadewaye watched the surrounding trees down their arrows while the others turned their swords in their hands.
They waited for the intruder to fall silent, to die. Then they waited for more of them to arrive.
An arrow sailed past Blackmane’s face, and Eda returned fire, but she was shooting blind. Roul signalled for them to spread out, and the group dispersed, their footsteps careful and silent. He followed Eda because she was the job—and because he could not help it.
A man dropped from the trees, landing in front of Tatum amid a fluttering of leaves. The defender speared him with his sword before he had a chance to raise his weapon. Another figure appeared from the side, tackling Alveye from behind. Eda swung her bow in that direction and shot him through the ribcage.
Roul was almost to Eda when he felt the swoosh of a weapon pass by him. He spun around, lifting his sword just as the blade came back in the other direction. Rebels spilled from the shadows then, around thirty of them. An arrow pierced the neck of the man Roul was fighting, and he knew without looking back that Eda had fired it. He turned and ran for her, trying to reach her before their attackers did.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two men run at Tatum. Roul reached for his dagger and threw it, stopping one in his tracks. Tatum was ready for the other, disarming him in two strikes before cutting his throat. Eda pivoted on the spot, firing one arrow after another. Then a man twice her size stepped up behind her.
‘Suttone, behind!’ Roul shouted.
She turned, releasing an arrow into the man’s face. Roul reached her then, kicking the man back and away from her.
‘You all right?’ he asked, panting and looking around.
She nodded, reloading her bow and turning at the sound of feet pounding the wet earth. Roul watched the trees on the other side of them, not taking any chances. He heard the arrow release behind him, heard it hit, heard the scream that tore from the rebel’s throat. He turned at the sound, for it was not the scream of a man. There stood a boy, no older than ten, an arrow protruding from his neck. A sword slipped from his hand, and he toppled backwards. Eda clapped a hand over her mouth, frozen in place as she watched him writhe on the ground before falling still. With a sharp inhale, she ran towards the boy.
‘Suttone,’ Roul hissed.
When she did not stop, he followed her, watching as she dropped to her knees beside the boy and felt for a heartbeat. Roul did not need to check for a pulse to know he was dead. He took her by the arm, dragging her to her feet. ‘Load that bow. This isn’t over.’
Eda sank back down to the ground, the weapon slipping from her hand this time.
Roul looked to the trees, then back at her. ‘I need you to pick up your weapon.’
She lifted her eyes to him, and even in the dark, he could tell the boy’s death had broken something in her. Eda signed something he could not understand, her voice lost.
