“That is unwise, Turnia. This man is dangerous, and once he has what he wants, he will escape. He will kill more of our people.” Telaxthe was normally calm, but I could hear the edge of desperation in her voice.
“But you were fine telling him right before he left your world? So he would be my problem?” Turnia’s tone darkened.
“He won’t be able to escape you once he is on your world, Turnia.”
“I will have the same number of warriors escorting him when we reach our home planet. We are safer here as I have your assistance.” She turned back to me. “Do you want to know now?”
“What if I refuse to tell him?” The mood in the pavilion changed instantly with the empress’s question. Though she asked calmly, I could sense the tension building between the Elvens and Turnia’s warrior women.
“Do you forget who aided you with the clans? Do you forget who persuaded them to grant you your own world? This very world?” Turnia’s voice became a growl of outrage. “Do you even realize the danger you and your people are in right now, Elven? You’ve been playing war here while the clans decide how to enslave you. The price of Ovules has increased and it will only be a matter of time before they come for your heads.” Turnia rose to her feet like a panther. “Of course, you probably do know this. You aren’t as stupid as you seem. That was why you killed my brother, despite everything he did for your kind. You knew that if he came back with a Pretender it would be an open invitation for the clans to decide this world was unfit for you. Then you would be right back where you started.” Turnia’s mouth turned into a venomous grin.
“I have not forgotten the assistance you and your brother gave me. That is why you have not been killed for speaking to me in such a manner!” Telaxthe hissed the words through a tense jaw. Vernine and Dissonti had both laid their hands on the blades at their hips and Turnia’s women gripped their own curved swords. The four servants who had delivered the meals had emerged from their work station and flanked Telaxthe protectively.
“Answer my earlier question, Pretender. Do you want her to tell you of your daughter right now?” Turnia broke eye contact with the empress to look at me.
“Perhaps.” I glanced back and forth between the two factions. If they came to blows would there be a chance for me to escape? I realized that if Turnia killed Telaxthe I might lose my only chance to learn of my daughter. Nadea would also lose the chance to get to know her birth mother. “It would depend on what you want from me in return.”
“Our agreement was that I would tell him just before you took him through the Radicle,” Telaxthe scratched out a low growl and I realized it was the first time I had ever heard anger in her voice.
“Call your guards,” Turnia said to the empress. Telaxthe tilted her head slightly and her eyes narrowed.
“Call your fucking guards, bitch!” Turnia shouted and slammed her hands together.
“Guards!” Telaxthe yelled. I expected dozens of warriors to rush down the stairs in a tidal wave of malice.
Instead there was silence from outside the pavilion.
“What do you think has been going on while we broke our fast in this tent Telaxthe?” She took a step toward the empress and Vernine took a step forward to flank her leader. No one had drawn a weapon yet but I could almost taste the blood in the air and hear the crash of combat.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Did you think you could fool me? Would I believe that a single man could kill my brother and half a dozen of his warriors?”
“That is what happen—”
“With hundreds of arrows!” Turnia screamed and Telaxthe’s jaw closed with an audible snap. “I saw the bodies. Your assassins were lazy, empress, and now you will pay for your betrayal.”
Vernine drew her sword with a blur of speed and a scream of air. Dissonti and Turnia’s guards also drew their weapons. The Elven servants produced small swords that must have been hidden inside the sleeves of their tunics.
“The empress will tell you what she knows of your daughter. Then you will tell me exactly what happened to my brother. Every. Single. Detail.” Turnia had not drawn her own weapon but it didn’t really matter. I could hear no conversation or activity outside the tent. The O’Baarni had either captured or murdered the entirety of Telaxthe’s small guard while we ate.
“If you confirm that the empress did have a hand in Kannath’s death, I will delight in ripping the life from her body.” She smiled again and slowly sank back down to her pillow. “Since there is no love lost between the two of you, perhaps you would enjoy watching me execute her?”
“This is absurd, Turnia!” Telaxthe seethed.
“Ahh. Ahh.” Turnia raised a finger and shook her head. “Arguing with me now will only enrage me further. Cooperating with my request is in your best interest, Telaxthe. Perhaps I could find it in my heart to let your Dissonti live? She is important to your people, is she not?” Telaxthe bit her lip and made a slight nod.
“Good girl,” Turnia said. “Now put away your weapons, Elvens. The battle began when my brother came to this world. And you have lost.”
“Put them away,” Telaxthe whispered as she bowed her head. Vernine, Dissonti, and the servants exchanged looks but did not move. “Now!” Telaxthe commanded again and they finally followed her order.
“That just leaves you.” Turnia glanced back to me and the mocking smile she had given the empress faded from her mouth. “She will tell you of your daughter. Then you will tell me of Kannath. Do you agree?”
“It doesn’t sound like I have a choice.” I forced a smile to my lips and fought through my conflicting emotions. Telaxthe would die today, as would Vernine, and possibly Dissonti. Telaxthe’s death would make ridding this world of Elvens easier. Fehalda would take control of the armies, but they would never be as strong. The empress was possibly the only Elven who could instruct Jessmei in using her magic to close the Radicles, giving me a chance to return if I could escape the Council.
I did not want the leader of the Elven people to die. She was Nadea’s mother, and though they did not yet have a relationship, I would not want Nadea to lose the opportunity. I also felt a grudging respect for Telaxthe. She overcame numerous obstacles to freed her people from a situation akin to slavery.
Just as I once had.
“There are always choices, Kaiyer,” Turnia answered.
I nodded at her words and glanced to Telaxthe. Her head was bowed and I was unable to see her face, but her body told me everything I needed to know: She had lost and she knew her people would soon feel the grip of the O’Baarni on their necks again. Vernine’s red eyes met mine and she bit her lip slightly. It was just enough to convey her terror. Dissonti stared at the wall of the tent, as if she were observing the conflict from a great distance.
“Don’t look at the empress, Pretender. Look at me. What is your choice?”
I took a deep breath and gave Turnia my answer.
Chapter 30-Iolarathe
“The humans are assembling their army. We outnumber them by more than three to one.” Nyarathe pointed at the map of the wetlands with her finger and continued to brief my three other generals. “The Singleborn’s strategy has worked. They are cornered between the ocean and the flood plains. We also have the higher ground.”
“We will crush them today. Finally.” Grednil’s smile spread across his face slowly. Ilttaia and Fusik mirrored his pleasure and opened their mouths to speak.
“We cannot underestimate them.” I held up my hand to silence my generals. “Gorbanni’s cavalry is skilled but does not frighten us. Shlara’s troops do. The human woman is crafty and Kaiyer might also have a trick or two up his sleeve.” They nodded at my words and the smiles dropped from their faces. I wished that I could have split Kaiyer’s army in another way so that he was separated from Shlara, but he had chosen to send Malek, Alexia, and Thayer after my feinting forces north.
Relyara entered the pavilion and walked over to me. She gave me a note from my surveying commander and then sa
t down in the corner of the tent to observe our plans.
“Kaiyer is taking to the field. It appears that he will lead the charge as I planned.” I read the letter and felt a sensation of pleasure course through me.
“My pikes will be ready, Iolarathe.” Ilttaia growled and her scent changed to one of smoked peppers. I smiled at her and recalled the delicate, soft-spoken maiden that had once been part of my entourage. She had become a fearsome warrior and I trusted her almost as much as my sister.
“I want him alive.”
“Yes, Mistress. My soldiers have their orders.” She nodded, and the fire came to her eyes.
“They will try to flank us here.” I pointed to the west side of the map. “Brother, hold this area. Shlara will try to force her way in here. You will stop her.”
“I will. The human bitch will not pass through my warriors.” He nodded.
“Fusik, I am going to hold your cavalry back. Once Kaiyer is brought down I expect them to break. Then you will cut them as they flee like a scythe through grain.”
“I would prefer to be attacking, but I understand your strategy, Iolarathe.” The horseman nodded and I knew that he spoke the truth without even tasting his scent. Fusik and my sister had become close in the last few months and I imagined she would be pregnant as soon as the war ended.
“Sister. You will be stationed here.” I pointed at the back of the ranks behind Ilttaia’s ground troops. “Support the front lines with your soldiers’ magic and arrows. If any begin to weaken, you will be called into the melee.”
“Yes, Iolarathe.”
“You are all dismissed. Remember: I need Kaiyer alive. Then this entire war will be over.” The four of them nodded and disappeared from my tent with their usual speed.
“Do you really think this will be over if you capture him?” Relyara asked from her seat behind me.
“Yes. He is pivotal to their strategies and morale.” I looked over the map again and refused to glance back at her.
“And why the insistence on capturing him alive? Would it not be simpler and more effective to kill him?” I could smell the lemon on her body. In the past, I would have beaten her for questioning me with such blatant disrespect. Now I knew my lover was just jealous. I needed her support as much as I needed to believe I would one day be with Kaiyer again.
“That would simply make him a martyr. Shlara would take up his mantle, and probably be equally effective. If we take him alive, they will attempt a rescue. I will drag him all over this world, stretch their supply lines, ferret out their hidden camps, and destroy every last one of them.” The words tasted wonderful in my mouth, but I knew the truth as well as Relyara did: The real victory would be having Kaiyer with me again. When the war ended I would have everything I wanted.
All I wanted was him.
A horn blasted outside and was echoed by six others that formed a beautiful chord of triumph, signaling that my army was ready to attack. This time it was a ruse crafted to make the humans think that they only had a few minutes before we charged. We were going to force them to come up the hill to us so that we had higher and more stable ground.
“Let us go watch my victory.” A stack of command flags lay upon the planning table and I grabbed them before I left. Each small banner would tell the couriers of my army if there was any change in plan so that they could communicate it to the generals.
I hoped I wouldn’t need to use them today.
The air outside my tent smelled of horses, oil, and fear. I had come to love the scent of it. Fear alone smelled unpleasant, but if the army was not afraid, it meant I was not taking enough risks. If I was not taking enough risks, the humans would shortly figure out my strategy and end my term as ruler of the Elven people.
Fear was good.
“Their armor always terrifies me.” Relyara pointed at the line of distant cavalry. Each of the humans on horseback wore gray armor with ram-shaped helmets, shoulder plates, and etchings. While normally the sight of a ram wasn’t intimidating, these rams seemed to be screaming in agony, or hunger, or both.
“Is that Kaiyer?” she asked. A lone figure rode a massive black warhorse in front of the battle line.
“Yes,” I answered and fought against the flurry of emotions the sight of him elicited in my body. The figure was terrible to behold. Gruesome armor encased his body, it was decorated in screaming, horrified skulls that perfectly conveyed the fear and death this man had inflicted upon my people. Two misshapen horns jutted unevenly out of the twisted, skull-shaped helmet. A long red cloak trailed behind him and I could taste the fear as it spread through the ranks of my massive army. He was a nightmare.
The legend of Kaiyer’s prowess had already infected my people by the time I took over the army. He was rumored to be unbeatable in combat, said to possess magic and skill beyond any human or Elven. It had been many years since the leader of the humans had even shown himself in battle, and I doubted the veracity of his mythological power.
Bur’tilon’s death had left me questioning my skepticism. He should have won the battle on the mountain pass. Bur’tilon had made the mistake of acting before the rest of my army had joined him, but he had Kaiyer with Alexia and Malek’s armies in close combat. He had them outnumbered and flanked from all directions. It should have been an easy victory.
But the hundreds of Elven corpses told otherwise.
“It seems he is speaking to them.” Relyara’s voice pulled me from the memories of the strange building on top of the mountains and the smooth stone artifacts Nyarathe and I had found that spoke of the dragons.
“He is probably telling them that the end is near.”
I led Relyara to a raised platform behind my ranks where I could survey the battle. Twenty of my personal guard formed a tight ring around us. My beautiful assistant did not spend much time in combat, but I insisted she wear full armor in case the humans ever broke through the guards and we were forced to defend ourselves.
“Hard to believe this will finally be over,” she said once we reached the platform. It rose only ten feet off the ground but was situated on a hilltop that gave us an unobstructed view of the entire battlefield and twenty miles in each direction. I was an easy target here, but Malek’s mages were not in the battle today, and Shlara had none skilled enough to launch an attack this far.
“We will still have to hunt down Alexia, Thayer, and Malek.” I sighed and took a long inhale of the battle scent. The war had pivoted only a little when I took over the army. The humans had grown too powerful and swelled in size. They were still outnumbered by the combined forces of the Elven armies, but we had not won a battle in many years.
The improvements had been minimal at first. I focused on martial training and retreat tactics. The former leaders and elders had not approved of my strategies because they still viewed the humans as rebellious but incompetent slaves; animals to be put down, not skilled warriors to be feared.
At first I could do little more than attack their supply lines. Kaiyer took notice and would divert part of his army to protect the lines, allowing us to attack somewhere else. My efforts did little damage overall, but we were killing his warriors and increasing the confidence of my own.
Gorbanni and Thayer were my ideal targets. Their armies were strong in open combat but lacked any finesse or strategy. I easily scored victories against their forces and tested my army against Alexia and Malek. Malek was easier to outwit than Alexia and a few attacks against him were victorious.
Shlara was brilliant and problematic. The woman anticipated my plans and was always a few steps ahead of me. Strategies that worked on the other generals had almost laughably pathetic results against her forces. I began to understand the power structure of Kaiyer’s army. Today I would finally crush her beneath my boot and take Kaiyer. Even if I lost half of my army, the other human generals would not be able to stand against us without their leader or his genius general.
Thinking of Shlara made my jaw clench. The humans we captured spoke of her be
auty, intelligence, and unparalleled combat prowess. Some said she and Kaiyer were lovers, others said they were not. The thought of the human fucking my lover brought the scent of blood to my nose and clouded my vision with rage. Of course he would have found another to share his bed after so many years without me, as I had with Relyara. But though the woman was affectionate, intelligent, and trustworthy, both of us understood her place. I still loved Kaiyer.
I wondered if Shlara knew that Kaiyer felt the same about me. I wondered if he still did.
Kaiyer had to understand that I had no choice in killing his brother. I needed to tell him, explain what had happened. I had never meant to cause him pain, but was forced to by the ridiculous politics of my tribe. Things had changed. I was the leader of the entire Elven race. We could be together now, no one could stop me.
The army of humans below screamed a terrible shout that rolled off the ocean and up the hill toward us. The dark figure on the black horse raised his arm and then his army lifted their flags in a colorful response. Gorbanni rode to him. The two men had a short conversation before a dozen cavalry flanked the pair. Kaiyer lowered a wicked-looking lance of screaming skulls.
Then the group charged up the hill toward us.
“They took the bait,” Relyara muttered under her breath. “By the Dead Gods he is fast!” The terrible armor and giant black steed had outpaced the rest of the cavalry by at least three horse lengths. I stared in astonishment as the lead quickly increased every second. By the time Kaiyer was halfway across the empty space of the battle meridian he was ten lengths ahead of his escort.
“What is he doing?” Relyara asked in surprise and fear.
“He is giving us the battle.” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing either but there was no other explanation. As soon as Kaiyer hit our lines he would be swarmed and captured. His guard would never be able to defend him in time.
Yet his horse just seemed to run faster.
Arrows and magic slammed into the ground between the lead figure and the first line of cavalry. My troops were trying to hit Kaiyer, but his speed made him a difficult target. He was three quarters to our front row of pikes within a few more seconds and I realized that any command that I would give to my generals to target the other lines would be too late to do any real damage. Was he intending to distract us? Did Kaiyer know that he would be too tempting a target and that my warriors would want the glory of taking him down before he reached my lines?
The Destroyer Book 4 Page 35