Guns of the Dawn

by Adrian Tchaikovsky

  ‘That was why you shot him?’ Northway pressed, but she just stared at the King’s cooling corpse, seeing futures fade away.

  ‘Were you going to save him? Was that why you came here?’ At last she helped him into a sitting position, though it plainly pained him.

  ‘I cannot say.’ He managed a strained laugh. ‘I thought I was, but perhaps I was fooling myself. I did not want him free, Emily. I wanted you – and you love him.’

  ‘He loves me,’ she corrected. ‘But . . .’ She had known this even as she fired. It had been part of the price, paid willingly in the end. ‘I could not ever be with him. He loved his king, Cristan. He was a King’s man through and through. I would be false to him, to accept his love, because in my heart I would know that he would rather have died than I save him by the death of his master.’

  Northway was silent for a time after that, waiting patiently, propped up on one arm, until the quiet finally drew more words out of her.

  ‘I saved Scavian by regicide,’ she admitted to him, and then cut off his resigned nod when she added, ‘but it was you I committed regicide for.’

  *

  It would be dawn before they finally struggled back to Grammaine, a slow, painful journey on foot since all the horses were gone, but Emily did not care.

  The war was over, her war was over, and she had won.

  About the Author

  Adrian Tchaikovsky was born in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, before heading off to Reading to study psychology and zoology. For reasons unclear even to himself he subsequently ended up in law and has worked as a legal executive in both Reading and Leeds, where he now lives. Married, he is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor, has trained in stage-fighting, and keeps no exotic or dangerous pets of any kind, possibly excepting his son. He is the author of the ten-book fantasy series Shadows of the Apt and a standalone science-fiction novel called Children of Time.

  Guns of the Dawn is his first standalone historical fantasy novel.

  Catch up with Adrian at www.shadowsoftheapt.com for further information plus bonus material, including short stories and artwork.

  BY ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY

  Shadows of the Apt

  Empire in Black and Gold

  Dragonfly Falling

  Blood of the Mantis

  Salute the Dark

  The Scarab Path

  The Sea Watch

  Heirs of the Blade

  The Air War

  War Master’s Gate

  Seal of the Worm

  Guns of the Dawn

  Acknowledgements

  With thanks to my advance readers Janine Ashbless, Justina Robson, Tom Jewell, Esther Reeves, Helen Walter, L. M. Myles and of course Annie Czajkowski.

  Thanks to John Tams for allowing me the use of his lyrics for the initial quote.

  Thanks also to line editor Peter Lavery, my agent the inestimable Simon Kavanagh, and to Julie Crisp, Bella Pagan, Louise Buckley, Sam Eades and everyone else at Tor who made this book possible.

  And thanks to the insect-kinden, for being patient.

  First published 2015 by Tor

  This electronic edition published 2015 by Tor

  an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

  Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR

  Basingstoke and Oxford

  Associated companies throughout the world

  www.panmacmillan.com

  ISBN 978-0-230-77005-8

  Copyright © Adrian Czajkowski 2015

  Cover images © Shutterstock

  The right of Adrian Czajkowski to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third party websites referred to in or on this book.

  You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Visit www.panmacmillan.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.