Fall of the Titan (The Desolate Empire Book 5)

by Christina Ochs

  “We’ve got Dolf Kalstrom, who’s been here all along, and Leyf Lofbrok maybe two days’ march away. He came around through Podoska.”

  Trystan swallowed. “Did you know Teodora is my mother’s prisoner?”

  Lennart nodded, looking grave. “So I’ve heard. I don’t know what to make of it, but can’t do much until the battle is over. Your mother hired a former general of mine, and my scouts tell me she nabbed the empress. Seems Teodora was in disguise, pretending to be on our side, but by a great stroke of luck, General Vidmar had a run-in with her years ago and recognized her straight away.”

  “That is lucky.” Trystan’s mind whirled. He didn’t realize his mother had hired an army. He had been away too long. “I doubt that’ll slow Mattila down. It's possible she orchestrated it to create a distraction. Where is she?”

  “Somewhere in Isenwald.” Lennart’s face turned grim. “Lofbrok is moving as fast as he can to stay ahead of her. Had to leave his big guns behind. Princess Maryna arrived a couple weeks ago with Hohenwart and Orland. I’m missing Tora Isenberg, but with you and the recent additions, our numbers will be nearly even.”

  “Good. Where do you plan to face her?”

  “A fair bit south of here.” Lennart pulled over a map. “I want to be well away from the city so she can’t attack it easily if anything goes wrong.”

  “Nothing will go wrong.”

  Lennart looked up. “It already did, once. She outsmarted me fair and square outside Richenbruck. It won’t happen again, but I’m not underestimating her. We have a secret advantage this time, but I’ll let Terris tell you about that. Once our scouts tell us that Mattila has crossed the border, we’ll move out.”

  “Good,” Trystan said, smiling. “I’m ready.”

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Lennart said, “can’t tell you how much I missed you at Richenbruck. But you have friends waiting for you. They’ve been worried, wondering where you are. And a certain horse.” Lennart grinned. “Wouldn’t be surprised if you find the lot of them in the stable. We’ll have dinner tonight so you can pay your respects to Princess Gwynneth.” Lennart winked. “I’m sure she’ll be eager to express her gratitude.”

  Trystan hoped she was, though he doubted she’d be as grateful as Natalya had been. He took his leave and headed for the stable, peering into stalls, looking for Storm. As he neared one stall, he heard Anton’s voice, and a girlish giggle.

  Trystan smiled and pushed the door open. “Hey, looks like you found him already.”

  “Trystan!” Maryna flung her arms around his neck, to his great surprise, kissing him on the cheek. “It’s so good to see you.”

  He smiled at her, pleased at how much she’d changed, her cheeks rosy and her eyes bright, bits of straw in her hair. “It’s good to see you too, Your Grace. Natalya sends her love.” He’d tell her about the trouble in Allaux later.

  “Thanks for bringing Storm.” Anton took Trystan’s hand. “You made it just in time.”

  Braeden

  Upon his return to Heidenhof, Braeden’s life changed quickly. He was happy that Trystan had arrived, bringing even more troops, but there was no time to get caught up. He woke up early one morning to a message from Gwynneth, asking to meet in the library after breakfast. He hoped he hadn’t done anything wrong.

  By the time breakfast was finished, he was sure he hadn’t. Maryna seemed pleased to see him, and Gwynneth had that look, the one Braeden recognized meaning she was up to something. He was pretty sure it involved him.

  “You must be very happy,” he said as they settled into chairs in the library, looking out at the rainy garden.

  “It’s such a relief, having Maryna back safe.” Gwynneth frowned. “She certainly became more independent while she was away.”

  “I expect she had to.” Braeden could tell from Gwynneth’s expression she didn’t like it as much as she ought.

  “I suppose you’re right.” Gwynneth sighed. “Maryna has always been strong-willed, but she’s already challenged me a few times since arriving here. I want to have a good relationship with my daughter, but it’s hard to make her understand that, while she might be extraordinary for someone her age, she’s only fourteen and still needs adult guidance.”

  “I reckon she’ll learn that soon enough.” Braeden wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do about it. “Maybe the king can help you.”

  Gwynneth rolled her eyes. “She’s already wrapped him around her little finger. But she’s given me a little hope. She’d like a few advisers to help me, and her, of course. She’s asked Count Faris, who’s in the process of moving into the palace. She’d also like you.”

  “Me? Our experience in Isenwald made it clear I’m not cut out for politics.”

  Gwynneth smiled. “Quite the opposite. You did extremely well. It’s not your fault Teodora showed up out of nowhere. Besides, Maryna will mostly need your military advice. Count Faris and I can handle the political side.”

  “I could do that.” Braeden tried to hide his relief. He never wanted to deal with so much paperwork again. “What about Devyn’s training?”

  “I’m afraid that will have to fall by the wayside. Though if you don’t mind, he can tag along with you sometimes, learn what’s involved in heading Terragand’s military. That’ll be his role someday.” Gwynneth smiled wryly. “It looks like his formal education might be cut short, at least until the war is over.”

  “If the rumors about Teodora being Princess Edyta’s prisoner are true, that might be soon.”

  “I hardly dare hope for that anymore. I realize Lennart will have to defeat Mattila decisively before that happens and I worry about the cost.”

  “So do I.” No point in avoiding the topic. “It will be the biggest battle since Kaltental and likely more decisive.”

  Gwynneth took a deep breath. “That’s where I need your help right now. Maryna insists on joining the battle.”

  “That doesn’t seem like a good idea.” Braeden had already been pondering how he might keep Devyn out of danger. If he had his way, the lot of them would stay inside Birkenfels until it was over.

  “I already told her that and got nowhere. She insists it’s vital she be visible as Terragand’s ruler, though she has no idea what she’s doing. What’s worse, General Hohenwart already told her it’s fine to join her suite at the rear.”

  “That might be all right.” Braeden saw from Gwynneth’s face that it wasn’t. “It’s the same problem we had with Devyn when we got here, isn’t it?”

  “It never goes away.” Gwynneth shook her head. “If only they were five years older. I’ll have a bad enough time with Stella.”

  “Tell you what,” Braeden said. “I’ll talk to Princess Maryna, try to reason with her. I suppose I must have the same talk with Devyn.”

  “Thank you,” Gwynneth said. “I’m sure she’ll listen to you better than she will to me.”

  “Let's hope so.” Braeden grinned, hoping to reassure her at least a little.

  Gwynneth left and sent Maryna to him.

  “I’m honored by the appointment, Your Grace,” he said, pleased to see her looking so healthy and happy. “It was kind of you to consider me.”

  “You’ve helped us all so much already. But I need your advice now, before the battle.” Maryna’s bright eyes—so like her father’s—turned grave.

  Braeden thought of Kendryk with a pang. He’d be proud to bursting at how smart and brave his little girl had turned out. At that moment he decided keeping her safe was more important than anything. “Of course,” he said, his voice husky.

  “Mother doesn’t want me present at the battle, but I think it’s important I’m there.”

  “She told me.” Braeden took a deep breath. “Your Grace, I understand your reasoning, but I agree with your mother in this.”

  Maryna’s face fell, but she didn’t protest.

  Braeden went on. “It’s likely King Lennart will prevail, but the cost will be high. No matter what happens, Terragand must hav
e a leader when it’s all over. Even in victory, there will be a great deal of mourning for those lost. Just think how much worse that will be if something happened to you.”

  “I understand your point.” Maryna twisted her hands in her lap. “It just seems cowardly.”

  Braeden chuckled. “Captain Kronek told me the tale of your rescue, and everything that happened to you before and since. Even your worst enemies couldn’t accuse you of cowardice.”

  “That’s kind of you.” She offered a half-smile. “I didn’t feel brave most of the time. But I still worry. If I’m not there, who will represent the family during battle? I won’t allow Devyn to be there either.”

  “I agree,” Braeden said, “I’ll deal with Devyn, if that’s all right with you. But why can’t I represent you during the battle? We’ll make sure everyone knows I’m your military adviser and I’ll take the field on your behalf.”

  “I suppose that’s all right.” Maryna didn’t seem pleased, but at least she agreed.

  Braeden smiled at her, relieved, then said. “Thank you for being so reasonable, Your Grace. Now I’d better go talk to your brother, who won’t be.”

  Gwynneth

  Devyn was in a terrible temper after Braeden informed him he’d join his mother and sisters in Birkenfels during the battle, so Gwynneth was relieved when Leyf Lofbrok’s army arrived, with Trisa Torresia in tow. Devyn was delighted to see his friend, and even better, Trisa was in no condition to fight.

  “Getting here just about killed me,” she said with a wince, sitting down slowly on a bench in Gwynneth’s private study. “But if you went into battle without me, that would truly finish me off.”

  Gwynneth hid a smile, wondering if Braeden had put Trisa up to this.

  Still, Devyn wasn’t being dissuaded so easily. “You look like you’ve recovered. Besides, you wouldn’t have to fight, you could just be my bodyguard.”

  “I had to travel the last hundred leagues in a carriage,” Trisa said with great disdain. “I can’t sit a horse for more than a few minutes. General Lofbrok said he’d kill me personally if he saw me riding around.”

  “I’ll order him to leave you alone,” Devyn said, though concern shadowed his eyes.

  “Good luck with that.” Trisa shook her head. “No one but King Lennart can tell that man anything.”

  “Then I’ll tell the king. As ruler of Terragand—”

  “Not anymore,” Gwynneth said gently. For the most part, Devyn was happy to be shed of the responsibility, though he appeared to miss throwing his weight around.

  “Right.” Devyn scowled. “Maryna can tell the king to tell General Lofbrok to let Trisa do whatever she wants.”

  “Not necessary.” Trisa grinned. “What I want is to sit inside your nice castle with you during the battle.”

  “I can’t believe you’re not on my side.” Devyn grumbled, though he was clearly softening.

  Realizing Trisa could manage him, Gwynneth stood. “I have an appointment, but I’ll have lunch sent up here for you. Maryna and Stella should be here soon.” They’d likely gone to the stables so Stella could pester Braeden for a ride on Kazmir. She’d tried an illicit excursion on Storm, who’d promptly thrown her off. Bruised and shaken, though unhurt, Stella decided it was better to ride with Braeden from now on.

  Gwynneth made her way to Edric’s private study. She’d begged its use off him for this visit. Something about the atmosphere of the room always calmed her. The place was empty when she arrived, and she helped herself to a small glass of brandy from a table in the corner. Facing north, the dark-paneled room was even darker, in spite of the bright sunlight outside. Gwynneth decided keeping her face shadowed in gloom would be best, considering.

  The brandy was just doing its calming work when Duke Aidan Orland came in.

  “Your Grace, thank you for seeing me.” He took her hand and bowed over it, then stared at her rather directly.

  “I’m happy to.” Gwynneth smiled, hoping she didn’t appear uneasy, which she was. “It’s a good opportunity to thank you for helping my daughter.” She showed the duke to a chair in a dark corner and sat down across from him, choosing a spot where her face would be in shadow.

  “It was the only thing to do.” The duke seemed to wave it off. “Besides, she’d acquired a much larger army on her own already. I just provided an escort.”

  “I’m still grateful.”

  The duke drew heavy dark brows together, then said, “I might as well get to the point. I hate to bother you with this before the battle, but it’s important to settle should anything happen to me.”

  A knot tightened in Gwynneth’s middle and she forced herself to breathe. She nodded, indicating the duke should go ahead.

  “I’ve known of the rumors about you and my son, of course,” he said. “Though they didn’t concern me much. You wouldn’t have been the first or the last woman to fall for his charms, and accidents happen.”

  Gwynneth held back a gasp. She’d always considered her affair with Arian tantamount to a crime and couldn’t think of it as an accident. It seemed Arian had gotten his flexible morals from his father.

  “Hm,” she said, not trusting herself to open her mouth.

  “I was also aware of the rumors surrounding your daughter, Stella.”

  Gwynneth hadn’t been. “Oh.”

  “I didn’t pay them much heed, but in recent days, I’ve kept an eye on the girl. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s my granddaughter.”

  “Oh gods.” Gwynneth pushed a balled-up fist against her mouth. It was a moment before she could say any more. It hadn’t even occurred to her that the duke might feel he had a claim on her. “I won’t give her up.”

  Orland shook his head. “I’m not asking you to, not at all. I want something else. My eldest daughter will inherit the duchy, but there is considerable property that would be my son’s, were he still alive. I’d given it to a distant cousin, but have since disowned him for supporting Balduin’s rebellion. He’s a prisoner of Lennart’s and I have no interest in seeing him freed. What I’ve done instead is make Stella the Countess of Hornfels. It’s not an enormous estate, but ought to provide a nice living.”

  “That’s very kind.” Gwynneth choked out, her mind whirling.

  “There’s more.” The duke looked at her intently. “Though my daughter is my heir, she’s nearly forty and childless. There’s a strong possibility she will die without an heir of her own. In that case, Stella would in time, inherit the duchy.”

  Gwynneth drew in a sharp breath. The Dukes of Anglestein were the most powerful in Terragand after those of the Bernotas family, and their property included the city of Kaltental, the richest in the kingdom. She didn't want to think of the scandal when all of this became public, but she had to consider the family’s fortunes. Her own embarrassment was a small price to pay for ownership of a large part of the kingdom. “That’s a lot to take in. I can’t think of how to tell her, or anyone else.”

  The duke stared at her. “You need do nothing right now. I’ve changed my will and given my steward all the papers. If something happens to me during the battle, Stella will inherit immediately, though I’ll leave the details up to your discretion. If I survive, we’ll keep it quiet until my death at some later time. I imagine her learning about it as an adult might be less confusing.”

  Gwynneth nodded. “I don’t know what to say. This is quite a shock.”

  “Of course.” The duke’s eyes softened, but only for a moment. “There’s nothing you need say or do right now. I just wanted you to know.”

  Anton

  Now that Mattila’s army had crossed into Terragand, it was time to move out. Lennart had sent Anton and Karil back to Trystan’s command, so their days were filled by getting acquainted with their troops and readying them for battle. Anton was up before daybreak, though the days were long now, falling into his bed well after dark.

  He seldom saw Braeden, who’d been assigned to Lennart’s personal suite, and even less o
f Maryna. That was probably just as well, though Anton worried. He wondered what she was doing and if she thought of him at all.

  Anton was outside Heidenhof, doing a final inspection of his troops in their camp. Trystan would look over the whole regiment later, and Anton wanted to make it clear he was more than ready. Since Anton spoke fluent Galladian, Trystan had put him in charge of two companies, with Karil under his direct command.

  Anton and Karil walked up and down the ranks, making sure everyone had clean weapons and plenty of supplies. Lennart never stinted on those, so many of the more battle-worn Galladians had new clothes, boots and muskets.

  Anton had come to the end of a row when he spotted Kazmir and Braeden coming his way.

  “You can finish up,” he told Karil, and turned to Braeden, who looked more serious than usual.

  “Is everything all right?”

  Braeden nodded as he dismounted. “We’re ready to move out, and it looks like you are too. I wanted to tell you ...” He dropped his voice and led Anton away from the troops and Karil. “I wanted to tell you Princess Maryna and her family will go to Birkenfels tomorrow. They’ll stay there until after the battle. I wasn't sure if you’d heard, since you haven’t been around the palace much.”

  “I hadn’t heard, but I’m glad. The princess hoped to be at the battle, but I didn’t want her to.”

  “Neither did any of us.” Braeden looked at him searchingly. “If there’s anything you want to say to her, tonight might be the time. I expect your luck to hold, but you never know.”

  Anton stared at Braeden, wondering if he was aware of his and Maryna’s plans. Perhaps she’d confided in him. “You’re right. I must find her somehow.”

  “No need.” Braeden’s eyes carried a hint of a twinkle. “I told her to be sure to say goodbye to Storm tonight.”

  “I’d better have him back in the stable then.” Anton and Storm had been staying in camp the past few nights, but he could head back to the city. He needed to get some things from his room at the palace anyway. “Thank you.”