by Jordan Rivet
“If your father hadn’t turned conqueror, your family wouldn’t be in this position,” Siv snapped. “He should be defending the fort, not slaughtering my mother’s relations.”
Dara winced. She was no diplomat, but that probably wasn’t the way to win Latch over. Sure enough, his jaw set, and he looked as though he was about to draw his sword. Or punch Siv in the head. Dara shifted her weight, hand tightening on her Savven blade. She prayed Latch wouldn’t give her a reason to draw it.
Suddenly, a singsong voice floated over them. “No one wants Fort Brach to fall.” Branches rustled above them, and a second later, Vine dropped out of the nearest tree. She landed lightly and skipped over to join them, looking perfectly serene. She put herself between the two young men, who were too busy gaping at her to remember they’d been about to come to blows. “Maybe we can use that to everyone’s benefit.”
Siv continued to stare at her. Dara had known Vine long enough not to be particularly surprised to see her dropping out of a tree.
“Use what?” Dara prompted.
“The threat against Fort Brach, of course,” Vine said. “Commander Brach is terribly far away right now. He’ll never make it back in time to protect the fort if it’s attacked. We could offer to help defend the commander’s family if he swears to leave the Far Plains amicably. Our friends there have suffered so much already. Don’t we want to restore peace to the entire continent?”
“That’s what my king wanted,” Captain Lian said. He was looking at Vine with the slightly dazed expression she often conjured in men.
“That’s an interesting idea, but Commander Brach won’t give up his position lightly,” Siv said. “He’s not exactly our ally.”
“We have his son,” Vex put in. “Latch could convince his father we don’t wish to keep Fort Brach for ourselves. And it would save us from a fight with the Soolens after we deal with the Lantern Maker.”
Vine beamed at Vex, and a hint of the same daze flickered in his eyes.
Siv studied them thoughtfully. “That could actually work.”
“We don’t have time for a detour to Soole,” Dara said. “I’m sorry, Latch, but my father—”
“Your father isn’t the only threat to peace in this land,” Vine said. “Khrillin would be just as dangerous if he got hold of the Brach dragons.”
“As much as I’d like to eliminate the Lantern Maker as soon as possible,” Vex said, “I have to agree with my lady.”
Dara scowled at him. Vex had made no secret of his desire to kill the man who double-crossed his brother. She was suspicious of anything that would make him change his mind so easily.
“I hate to say it,” Siv said, “but Sel isn’t making much progress with her dragon. It may be a while before we can engage the Lantern Maker, anyway.”
He looked at Dara, clearly seeking her counsel.
“I suppose my father and the Fireworkers are marching toward Soole,” she said at last. “What if we fought them from within Fort Brach instead of heading them off in the Truren wilderness? We might be better positioned to stop them.”
“And we’d have the secret Brach Watermight!” Siv clapped his hands together with a loud smack, making a few of the soldiers look over curiously. “We wouldn’t need Sel’s dragon at all! Assuming it’s okay with the Brachs, of course.”
“If you defend my family,” Latch said formally, “House Brach will provide all the Watermight you need to subdue the Lantern Maker.” He paused. “If there are any at the fort, you may also use our Cindral dragons. They’re more reliable than this Burnt Mountains creature.”
Siv inclined his head in a kingly expression of thanks, but Dara caught a hint of excitement in his eyes. He’d be thrilled about meeting the mysterious Cindral Forest true dragons. She wished she could match his enthusiasm, but the plan still relied too heavily on one key factor. She wasn’t the only one to see it.
“What makes you think we can stop Khrillin or this Lantern Maker fellow from taking Fort Brach?” Captain Lian said. “We barely escaped with our lives last time we tangled with magic wielders.”
“Dara can defeat them both,” Siv said. “At the same time, even!”
Dara cleared her throat. “Uh, actually—”
“I mean no offense, Sire, but she didn’t do too well last time,” Captain Lian said. “I lost good men back there.”
“We’ll have plenty of Watermight and a source of Fire.” Siv patted Rumy on the head, and he preened as every eye turned to him. “She’s amazing with both. And we’ll be inside a fortress.”
“The Lantern Maker’s power should be depleted by the time he travels such a great distance,” Vine said. “Even if he’s receiving resupplies, he will have just fought all the way through Trure. What do you think, Dara?”
Every eye turned to her. She imagined Fiz, Gull, and all of Captain Lian’s soldiers were staring at her too. She felt the weight of their expectations. They’d seen hints of her power, but she was far from having control of it. Only Rumy seemed unconcerned. He lay down in the middle of their war council and drifted off to sleep.
“My father will be very far from the mountain by then,” she said at last. “I . . . I guess that means he could be weaker.” She wished she could pass the responsibility of fighting him to someone else, especially after the disastrous incident in Pendark. But she had never let a single defeat—even a bad one—stop her from trying to improve. She may have lost a bout, but the tournament wasn’t over yet. “I might have a chance, especially from behind the walls of the fort.”
“Excellent.” Vine squeezed her hand. “Let us hope we can use the defense of Fort Brach to restore peace to the whole continent.”
“Even if Lady Dara can do it,” Captain Lian said, “we’re still talking about defending a border fortress belonging to someone who spent the past year conquering your own allies. I don’t know about the debts between you and Lord Latch, King Siv, but will Commander Brach keep his end of the bargain—if he even agrees to it in the first place?”
“Commander Brach is a proud man,” Vex interjected. “This might give him the opening he needs to retreat with dignity. Now that the Fireworkers are in play, his campaign has turned out messier than he anticipated.”
“I’m sure he still cares about the people he left behind at Fort Brach,” Siv said. “It can’t be worth holding the Far Plains if they perish.”
“If you say so, Sire,” Captain Lian said.
“I do,” Siv said. “I want to end this conflict with as little bloodshed as possible.” He scratched his toe in the dirt, plotting out their movements. “If Brach withdraws peacefully, we can take out Rafe Ruminor without worrying about facing the Soolens later. Both armies will still have to march back across Trure to get home. I’d rather they not have a pitched battle when that happens. The people of Vertigon won’t take me back if I get most of their young men killed. I’ll defend someone else’s walls if it means I can protect them.” He looked up at Latch. “Especially for someone who has had my back so many times.”
“What if Commander Brach attacks the Vertigonians anyway?” Dara said. She was nervous that Vex Rollendar seemed so certain of that part of the plan. He used to work for Brach. Could this be part of some scheme with the Soolen commander?
“Well, Latch?” Siv said. “Is Commander Brach trustworthy?”
Latch was silent for a long time. Captain Lian watched him closely. Pendarkans and Soolens distrusted each other as a matter of course, and Latch hadn’t made as much effort to become friends with the captain as Siv had.
“If he agrees to withdraw peacefully, he will keep his word,” Latch said at last. “But it will take convincing.”
“Can you speak to him directly through Vine’s Air channel thing?” Siv said.
“He’ll suspect a trick,” Latch said. “If he’s holding some Air Sensors captive in the Far Plains, he’ll think they’re doing it to get him to leave.”
“What if someone goes to him in person?” Siv said.
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“It’ll take weeks to ride to the Far Plains,” Latch said.
Siv grinned. “We already have someone there.”
Vine brightened visibly at the suggestion, but the others looked confused.
Latch’s brow furrowed. “You mean—”
“I do indeed.”
“She’s a teenage girl,” Latch said. “We shouldn’t send her into such a delicate negotiation.”
“She’s an Amintelle,” Siv said. “Besides, in my experience, teenage girls are quite formidable.”
“She’s also terribly charming,” Vine said. “She may be just what we need to make peace with the elusive commander.”
“You are referring to Princess Selivia?” Vex said with a frown. “I don’t think that’s wise, Your Majesty.”
Dara had the sudden urge to contradict the Rollendar lord.
“I think Sel can do it,” she said. “And you’d be showing Brach you respect his honor and nobility by sending your young sister to him alone.”
Siv scratched a hand through the stubble on his chin. “Latch, you told me once that your father wouldn’t harm Selivia if he took her prisoner. Do you still think that’s true?”
“He won’t hurt her,” Latch said without hesitation. “I can’t promise he’ll agree to the deal, but he will treat her with dignity.”
“It’s settled then,” Siv said. “We’ll march straight to Fort Brach and prepare for the arrival of Ruminor and his Fire Weapons. If Khrillin tries anything, we’ll already be in place to stop him.”
He waved over the two pen fighters. “Gull, Fiz, how would you like to help defend Latch’s home?”
Gull and Fiz exchanged glances. “I suppose we can give you a hand,” Gull said.
“Suits me,” Fiz said. “It’ll be nice to have the team back together again.”
“Even if it means going against Kres?”
“Kres and I go way back, but I don’t much like the path he’s taking,” Gull said. “He’s always had a blind spot where Khrillin’s concerned. We’ll ride with you.”
“Thank you,” Siv said. “It means a lot that you—”
“Don’t make a big deal of it, or I might change my mind,” Gull snapped.
Captain Lian chuckled. He looked Gull up and down with great appreciation, until she glared at him and he became suddenly absorbed by a splinter in his thumb.
“I shall attempt to contact Selivia,” Vine said. “Latch, you’d better join me when I speak to the young princess. She’ll need all the help she can get before treating with your father.”
“I’ll tell her what I can,” Latch said. “But we don’t exactly have a model relationship.”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Siv said. He clapped Lian on the back. “What do you say we have an ale for the road, Captain? We’ll leave as soon as Vine and Latch make contact with my sister. Dara, we’ll have to finish our bout another time. Let’s just say I won that round.”
Dara choked, but Siv grinned at her and sauntered away before she could say anything.
As the company dispersed, Dara was left standing in the clearing with Vex. He met her narrowed eyes, a faint smile playing across his lips. Exactly how Khrillin had found out Latch’s secret had never been clarified. Dara wouldn’t be surprised to find that Vex had left word for him when they fled the King’s Tower. She intended to keep a closer eye on him than ever. In the meantime, she hoped they’d reach Fort Brach with plenty of time to prepare for her father’s arrival.
8.
The Princess and the Commander
THE sky was a vivid blue the day Selivia and the dragon returned to Sunset City. They descended at high noon, and the normally windy streets were still, breathless, as if awaiting their arrival. It was little short of a miracle that Mav had agreed to carry her here.
Since the three feathered dragons ousted them from the Rock, they had been flying around the plains, rarely in the same direction, finding shade beneath desolate rock formations. Sometimes Mav slept until noon and refused to take off until he had splashed around in whatever stream or puddle they had camped beside for an hour. Other times, Selivia had barely awoken before he urged her to mount and took off into the shimmering dawn air. She begged and pleaded for him to carry her south, but he paid her as little attention in the wilderness as he had on the Rock.
At least Mav never flew off without her. No people and precious few creatures lived in these parts. If he ever abandoned her, she could be trapped in the wilderness until her hair turned gray. The land was so lonely and barren that she felt utterly lost, even though she could usually see the Rock on the horizon. In truth, they hadn’t gone far from the city at all.
Selivia finally admitted her inability to control the dragon to Vine, who contacted her for updates whenever she could. Lacking the Air Sense, Selivia couldn’t reach out to her directly, so she had to wait for Vine to create a channel to speak to her.
“But I have the most wonderful news, Princess!” Vine had said during their most recent conversation. “We don’t need you to fly to Pendark after all. We have a mission for you, and we’re all sure you’ll do a lovely job.”
Someone had said something to Vine in a low rumble, but with the rush of the Air, Selivia couldn’t quite tell what it was. Then Vine had introduced her to Lord Latch Brach and filled her in on her assignment. Selivia didn’t think anyone had ever asked her to do something more important in her life.
She had assumed she’d have to walk back to Sunset City for her negotiation with Commander Brach, but Mav had been waiting patiently the morning after her conference with Vine and Latch. He carried her straight to her destination as if he hadn’t spent the past few days lazing around the desert and ignoring her pleas. Selivia wondered if Vine had spoken to him. She didn’t understand why he couldn’t be more accommodating toward her. They were supposed to be friends, even if she didn’t have a whisper of the Air Sense.
They circled the city three times, flying lower with each pass. The beat of the dragon’s wings stirred the dust in the streets and made the colorful awnings flutter. A long strip of white cloth taken from Selivia’s underskirt fluttered from Mav’s front leg. She held tight to the blunt spines on his back, praying the Soolens would see her white flag before they loosed their Watermight arrows at her—or called on their own dragons.
After the final loop, Mav soared up the side of the Rock to perch on a ledge about fifty feet above the plain. Brach’s men had to have seen them by now. Selivia scrambled off the dragon’s back and untied the underskirt from his ankle. It wasn’t the most dignified peace flag ever, but hopefully it had done the trick.
Mav swung his huge head around and fixed Selivia with a large cobalt eye.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”
Mav snorted.
“Lord Latch promised his father wouldn’t hurt me.” She patted Mav’s scaly side, reassuring herself as much as her companion. “If you see one of those other dragons, you better make a run for it, though. You can always come back for me later.”
Selivia hid her ruined underskirt beneath a rock and settled in to wait for the Soolens. She had washed her face in a shallow rock pool that morning, but she still felt frightfully grubby. She imagined she was wearing an elegant diadem, and maybe a brilliant-blue cloak that would stand out beautifully against the rusted red of the cliff. The image gave her something to think about besides the zur-wasps fluttering in her stomach.
Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long. A company of ten Soolens approached on foot, winding slowly up the side of the Rock with a white flag flying from a long staff. The soldiers wore crisp uniforms with long vests and baggy trousers tucked into tall boots. The sun shone on their rich, dark skin, and half of them wore their hair long. At least one man appeared to be a Watermight Worker. Selivia had never met one before, but Latch Brach had warned her what to look for.
“The army Wielders all wear a silver knot on their vests,” he’d said through Vine’
s Air channel. “They’re proud men. Be respectful toward them, but don’t grovel. And don’t speak your demands to anyone except Commander Brach himself.”
“What if they won’t let me see him?” Selivia had asked, hoping the rush of the Air would hide the trepidation in her voice.
“They will,” Latch said.
She found his gruff certainty surprisingly comforting. “Is there anything you want me to tell your father—apart from all the negotiation stuff?”
“Tell him?”
“Yes, like you miss him or something?”
Latch had made a sound that Selivia couldn’t decipher. Had he just snorted?
“Tell him if Fort Brach falls, he will be responsible for the destruction of a proud tradition, and he deserves to have his memory cursed for the next twelve generations.”
“Uh . . .”
“Don’t say that. Just . . . just tell him it’s his only chance for redemption.”
Selivia felt bad for Latch. She had never met him, but she got the sense that he didn’t approve of anything his father had done. It was sad that he harbored so much anger toward a member of his family.
As the Soolen soldiers climbed the Rock toward her, she tried to remember everything Latch had told her in their hasty, Air-supported conversation. She couldn’t mess this up. Her own family was counting on her.
The soldiers drew nearer, all their attention on the huge true dragon. A faint silvery glow appeared beneath the Waterworker’s fingernails. Selivia stood up so the Soolens could see her better. They paused, surprise plain on their faces, and drew together to confer. She couldn’t hear most of their muttered conversation, but the words “little girl” were repeated more than once. She couldn’t let them get too fixated on that notion.
“Hello there!” she called. “I am Princess Selivia Amintelle of Vertigon. I have come for a peaceful negotiation with Commander Brach on behalf of my brother, King Sivarrion Amintelle.”