Iron Breakers: The Floodgates (Iron Breakers Book 3)

by Zaya Feli

  He had to talk to Thais.

  * * *

  The talk, it turned out, had to wait.

  They sent the fort inhabitants off with a small band soldiers for protection and a wagon of supplies. Evalyne and her men were eager to move on, and Ren couldn't blame them. With each second they stayed at Feywic, the unease and smell of rotting flesh buried themselves deeper under their skin. By the time they rode out from the shadows of the looming giant, the sun had sunk low, but none of them were particularly eager to sleep in the beds of dead men, surrounded by the echoes of ghosts. Ren suspected that even a bar of soap and a scalding bath wouldn't be enough to make him feel clean. He hoped the people who had been locked in the wine cellar were going to be all right. He could still see the fearful little girl staring up at him when he closed his eyes.

  Ren looked over his shoulder. The Fraynean soldiers had moved to the front, mixing with the ranks just behind Ren. Further back, so far that they were nothing but ants in the distance, the Lowlanders lagged behind on their new horses. Ren knew it wasn't because they struggled to keep up. Rather, they wanted to put distance between themselves and the Skarlans.

  “Do you think they're going to leave?” Evalyne asked, dragging Ren's gaze back.

  Ren shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe. Probably. They don't look like they want to hang around us much longer.”

  “They're useful to have on our side, but we can make do without them,” Evalyne said. “Especially if they're going to keep causing trouble. We're still eight hundred strong and our numbers will be growing when we get to Skarlan.”

  From Evalyne's other side, Kana pointed towards the horizon. “See that ridge, my lord? The Skarlan border runs just on the other side of it.”

  “How far away is that?” Ren asked, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the setting sun.

  Evalyne looked at Kana.

  “Maybe six hours,” the commander said.

  “We won't make it tonight,” Evalyne said, tugging her fur-lined cloak tighter around her shoulders. “This isn't an ideal place to camp, but the scouts are looking for someplace sheltered.”

  “At least it's better than sleeping with dead men,” Kana said.

  “Ren?”

  Ren looked back to the princess. “Hmm?”

  “How's your swordsmanship?”

  Ren hesitated. He was about to say 'terrible', but so far, he had survived no fewer than two fort sieges and one prison fight unscathed. “Decent,” he said instead, deciding to give himself some credit.

  “I don't know about you,” Evalyne said, “But I could use some practice. To stay sharp, you know? And I have a nagging feeling Kana always lets me win when we spar.” She sent the commander a sidelong glance.

  Kana just smiled.

  “You want to spar?” Ren asked.

  “How about it? Tomorrow, before breakfast, you and me,” she offered.

  “But I don't have-” Ren cut himself off, fingers trailing down the hilt of Anik's sword at his hip. Not having his own sword was no excuse. If he was going to carry Anik's sword like it was his own, he might as well learn how to use it. Especially where they were going. Ren cast a glance at the horizon, and the Skarlan border ahead. So long as Evalyne didn't grow suspicious if Ren started coughing up blood mid-session. “Sure. Why not.”

  * * *

  They woke to ominous, dark clouds rolling in from the far mountains, and a brisk wind that pulled on tent canvases and wagon covers. Ren slipped on a pair of grey Skarlan gloves against the morning cold, attached his sword sheath to his belt and ventured outside. The camp was barely stirring. Only the men and women woken by the strength of the wind were out, sitting in the entrances of their tents with blankets bundled around their shoulders and hot cups of wild chamomile tea.

  Thais' tent was next to Ren's. With a careful hand, he pushed the flap aside. Thais was still asleep, bundled in blankets that covered his entire body except for the top of his head. His chest rose and fell slowly. They needed to talk soon, but it didn't have to be now. When they reached Fenn, they could sleep indoors in real beds and spend an evening discussing the future. Thais could have a bath and sit by the hearth and warm himself. He looked like he needed it.

  Ren let the tent flap fall closed and instead made his way to Evalyne's tent. As he had predicted, she was already awake, lacing her black boots tight just under her knees.

  “Is Skarlan as cold as Frayne in the winter?” Ren asked, waiting for her to finish. He stuck his hands into his pockets to keep them warm.

  “Colder, I think,” she said, pulling her open jacket closer around herself. “The mountains shield us from too much snow, but the wind is ruthless. You get all the warm currents from the ocean side, but they never really make it to us.” She stood, grabbing a pair of firm leather sword sleeves and handing one to Ren.

  “Lucky us,” Ren said with a faint smile, following her to the edge of the camp and an area of grass that had been flattened, probably for the purpose of training. He followed Evalyne's instructions on how to attach the protective sleeve to the blade of his sword.

  Evalyne dropped her jacket on the grass and shivered in the cold. Her fiery hair was drawn into a bun and secured with several bands, but shorter, wavy locks still fell free, tugged by the wind. Ren's own hair was getting long enough to fall into his eyes. He never had gotten round to having it cut.

  Ren's boots were laced loosely, so he could easily slip them off. It didn't matter how many times he'd done it by now – stepping onto cold grass with bare feet was no less uncomfortable than the first time. He comforted himself with the thought that stretching his muscles would quickly get him warm, and he threw himself into familiar motions: the soft, flowing movements that Anik had taught him. He went to the edge of the camp every night before bed to go through the same routine. It put not only his body at ease, but his mind, too.

  Next to him, Evalyne rolled her shoulders and shook out her hands, but her movements faltered and she stopped to watch Ren, head tilted to the side.

  “That looks Lowlandish,” she commented.

  Ren completed a low swipe of his arm, shifting weight from one leg to the other as he brought himself back up to balance. “It is, I think. Anik taught me,” he said, a slow heat rising to his cheeks. It was a ridiculous thing to blush over. At least he could blame the colour in his cheeks on the cold bite of the wind.

  Fighting Evalyne was nothing like fighting Anik.

  Anik was force and strength, using people's skills and weaknesses to his own advantage, efficient and powerful. Evalyne was swift strikes and sharp jabs, offense like a viper. She drove Ren around the ring of flattened grass, leaving him reeling and struggling to keep the pace. What she lacked in physical power, she made up for in relentlessness and stamina. Ren was glad to find that his own speed nearly matched hers, but he had nothing on her vitality. At first, Ren held her at bay, but it didn't take long for his heart to race and his muscles to burn from exertion. Once, he got the better of her, landing a strike against her left side hard enough to make her stagger, but time and time again, she struck his hands sides and legs, forcing him back until he reached the edge of the ring and stumbled into the taller grass, sweating and panting. His lungs burned.

  Ren growled in frustration as he took her hand for the seventh time and allowed her to pull him to his feet. He couldn't let himself get frustrated, though. Practising with Evalyne was invaluable.

  “You really aren't bad,” she said, brushing a damp strand of hair from her face and dropping her sword on the ground to reach for the water skin discarded in the tall grass. Around them, the sky grew lighter, but there was no sunlight in sight, the dark clouds eating their way slowly across the horizon.

  Ren took the water skin from her, letting the cool liquid soothe his throat. His bones and muscles ached in a new and unfamiliar way that had nothing to do with ordinary exhaustion, and he didn't want to think about what it meant. At least Evalyne didn't seem to notice his unusual fatigue. “My sword
was lighter,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “We can find you a new sword that's more like your old one,” Evalyne suggested, gathering up her jacket.

  Ren shook his head. “No, it's fine. It's only going to help me build some muscle.” He removed the leather casing from the blade and stuck Anik's sword back in its sheath. He found he was getting used to its different weight, how it felt to handle it. He remembered how long Anik had spent picking out the weapon in Isleya, and now he could see why. It was an excellent sword. Not quite made to fit Ren, but still excellent.

  “Can I ask you something?” Ren asked. He let his hand slide off the sword hilt, reaching for his discarded jacket.

  “Sure.”

  “Why a fox?”

  Evalyne smiled, her rosy cheeks dimpling. She kicked the long grass around their makeshift arena absently. “Well, my family's symbol is a wolf. Strong and powerful. The fox is smaller, sneakier, wily. I thought it fit, all things considered. That, and my hair,” she added, chuckling as she pointed at her own head.

  Ren smiled, struck again by how youthful she was. It made his heart ache. Having Halvard as a father hadn't done much to hurt her kindness. Ren found himself thinking he would have liked to have grown up with her in Aleria. The two of them, plus Hellic and Thais, would have made an excellent quartet. She would have fit in perfectly. Then he frowned to himself. Thoughts of the plans for first Hellic and then Thais to be married to Evalyne were now uncomfortable. They were all related to Ren, but not to each other. He huffed, shaking the thought from his mind before it could make his head hurt.

  Evalyne's voice dragged him from his thoughts. “Looks like it might actually start to rain soon.” She stood with her back turned, gazing out over the distant line of trees. The dark clouds were rolling their way, from Skarlan towards Frayne.

  “I don't think anyone would complain about some rain,” Ren said.

  Evalyne shook her head slowly. “No, if that's all it is.”

  “What do you mean?” Ren stepped up alongside her, following her gaze. Where the sky met the ground, the clouds were so dark it looked like night was falling before the day had even begun.

  “Looks like it's going to storm.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  By the time they crossed the border to Skarlan, Evalyne's predictions proved true. The wind lashed through their ranks, forcing horses and men to keep their heads down. Their pace had slowed considerably and the scouts shouted reports to Evalyne and Kana with increasing tension. They were out in the open with nowhere to hide. They couldn't afford to stall.

  “How long until we reach cover?” Kana asked a scout, voice raised over the sound of the wind.

  “The woodland south of Fenn is three hours away,” the scout reported.

  By the time they reached the first trees, the wind hadn't lessened and the dark clouds spanned the sky west to east, although no rain fell. Soldiers struggled to put up their tents, even with the relative cover the trees provided. A narrow stream ran at the bottom of an eroded slope. Men and women waded into the shallow water, passing full skins and buckets to people at the top.

  Ren walked through the camp with Jayce at his side, stopping to help a soldier whose tent nearly tumbled away and tangled in the trees.

  “This is a nightmare,” Ren groaned, waving in hasty greeting to a young Fraynean soldier struggling with his tent stakes.

  “At least it isn't raining. Then it would be a nightmare,” Jayce said, following Ren as they circled back towards the centre of the camp.

  “Give it time,” Ren said darkly.

  “At least we'll have the camp set up.”

  Ren nodded in appreciation at the two soldiers hammering in the last stake holding his own tent and they nodded back with polite but worried expressions. Ren pushed the tent flap aside. Inside, the sound of the wind tugging on the canvas was inescapable, contributing to Ren's growing headache.

  Ren sat down on his cot and padded the space beside him. “Let's hope the storm is brief,” he said, raising his voice a little when Jayce sat down and leaned in closer.

  Jayce nodded. “I'm already half deaf,” he said, pointing to his one good ear. “I haven't heard a word of what people have been saying to me all day.”

  Ren smiled. “Oh? So this is the perfect time to ask you to marry me and inherit my family's fortune.”

  “I don't know anything about decorating frilly futons,” Jayce said, even louder.

  They both laughed.

  Ren leaned forward, digging a hand into his bag and retrieving a pair of apples. He handed one to Jayce.

  “A little late for apples. Where'd you get these?” Jayce asked, taking a bite.

  “Evalyne's people apparently have connections,” Ren said with a smirk. He took his time chewing through a bite of the sweet, juicy fruit before he spoke again. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure,” Jayce said. “I might not hear the question, though.”

  Ren smiled again, but then his expression grew serious. “If anything happened to me,” he said, trying for a casual tone, “would you look after Thais?”

  Jayce looked at him for a long second, lips parted. There was a line between his brows and suddenly, Ren felt a twinge of worry that Jayce would somehow see the truth in his eyes, the real reason he'd asked. Jayce was a physician. Would he know? Ren looked away.

  “Sure, Ren. You're not planning anything reckless, are you?” Jayce asked.

  Ren smiled and shook his head. “Nothing reckless. I just-” He sighed, “Evalyne has so much on her plate already. I can't ask her to babysit the crown prince, too. I want to make sure that if anything did happen to me, Thais wouldn't be alone. He needs someone to guide him.”

  “Of course,” Jayce said, and nodded, patting Ren on the shoulder. “It'd be an honour to serve the crown prince.”

  “You might change your mind once you start working for Thais,” Ren said with a little chuckle. Sadness mixed with the relief of knowing that he had secured Thais' future as best he could warred in his mind. He wouldn't be there to see Thais become king, but he could make sure Thais had the best people around him to help him when Ren couldn't do it himself. “Thanks,” he said finally.

  They stood, Jayce drawing him into a light embrace. Ren closed his eyes, soaking up that brief moment of comfort.

  “I'm sure Anik had his reasons for leaving,” Jayce said, lingering by the tent opening.

  Ren nodded slowly. “He's a good person.”

  Ren followed Jayce out, skirting his own tent to where Thais' had been set up.

  Thais looked up, eyes wide in the growing darkness before recognition replaced uncertainty. “What's going on?”

  “Nothing,” Ren assured him. Just wanted to talk.” He pointed to the cot next to Thais. “Can I sit?”

  Thais glanced down, shrugging, and Ren decided to take that as a yes. He crossed and sat next to Thais, resting an ankle across his knee. “I can't wait for a real bed to sleep in,” he started, offering Thais a smile.

  That seemed to loosen Thais up a bit. He blew out a breath. “Tell me about it.”

  “I know everything happened pretty fast,” Ren said, resting his elbows on his knees. They should have had this conversation days ago. “Have you thought about what will happen when we take back Aleria?”

  Thais' gaze focused on something over Ren's shoulder. His eyes became hooded and he blinked slowly. In the fading light, the darkness under his eyes seemed even more pronounced. So far, Thais hadn't uttered a single word of complaint, but Ren had no doubt that the march was as hard on Thais as it had been on him in the beginning. Maybe he could ask Jayce if there was something he could give Thais that might help his fatigue. It didn't surprise him that Thais was too stubborn to ask for help. It seemed to run in the family.

  “I become king, I guess,” Thais said finally. A frown formed between his brows.

  “And how do you feel about that?” Ren asked.

  Thais shrugged again. �
��It wasn't supposed to be my job.” There was a hard edge to his tone.

  Ren couldn't blame him for being bitter. “I know. I wasn't supposed to become a wanted criminal and join the war, but sometimes unexpected things happen. All we can do is try to handle them as best we can.”

  Thais gave him a strange look, one eyebrow raised.

  Ren chuckled, shaking his head. “I guess I sound like Mother, now.” He didn’t miss Thais' flinch and immediately regretted the words.

  “I don't know, do you?” Thais asked dryly.

  Their eyes met. Ren was the first to look away. “I'm sorry. You know her death wasn't your fault,” he said. “She didn't die in childbirth – Halvard killed her,” he said, feeling the familiar sting in his chest. Evalyne was still the only person apart from Anik who knew about his true heritage. Some part of him had subconsciously decided that no one else had to know. He'd take the secret with him to his looming grave and whatever truths were revealed after that were for the living to handle. He couldn't care what people said about him after he was gone. The thought of death made the familiar tickle return to his throat and he swallowed against it.

  “Well, excuse me if the idea is a bit hard to shake after a lifetime of people rubbing it in my face,” Thais said, leaning over the side of the cot to spit on the grass.