“The other rulers are cowards.” Next to me Paige prodded the shore with a stick. She had come along in a bitter mood herself. “They use their distance as a crutch, claiming they are too far away to see what Caltoth is doing. We all know the truth.”
“They shouldn’t have signed the compromise unless they were willing to uphold it.” My stomach was rolling. What if they didn’t? “What if they leave us with no choice but to declare war on Caltoth without the protection of the treaty?” Are they planning on siding with the wealthiest country, or the country with the greatest army? Because Jerar was only the latter. And do we really have the greatest army if we are facing three armies combined? From all sides?
I looked down at my hands to see them shaking. Try as I might to appear unaffected, I was far from it. I hadn’t a lot of free time to think about my mission in Dastan Cove, but I still dreamed of it. What it had felt like to kill. What it had felt like to almost lose Darren.
Fighting was easy until there were consequences.
I hadn’t been close to Caine—or Eve—during the events of my second and fifth year as an apprentice, but that didn’t mean their deaths didn’t haunt me. Their memories were easy to ignore during the day, but they were always with me when I closed my eyes. I could still smell the singed flesh from the desert pyre. I could still remember the determined look in Eve’s eyes right before she gave up her life to save the prince and me. A mage’s “last stand”—a sacrifice she never should have had to make.
“We cannot afford to go to war against Caltoth, the Borea Isles, and Pythus.”
“No, we can’t.”
I turned and found Paige watching me, her expression unwavering. “I do not believe you will let it come to that, my lady.”
I frowned. If only it were up to me.
If only there was a way.
****
We picked up the bandits’ trail almost immediately.
Unfortunately for us that was the only thing that came easily.
We had received the request for aid on our second week of duty. Sir Gavin’s squad patrolled a hundred-mile grid in the northwestern territory of Jerar and three small townships fell into our route. Two of them reminded me of Demsh’aa, but the third, Pamir, was a sizeable city that was famous for its breeding grounds and the realm’s best thoroughbreds. We had only just reached the border when several envoys appeared with tales of a theft that had taken place only three days before.
Apparently Pamir’s Lord Waldyn had already sent out half the town’s local regiment to hunt down the thieves, but they had returned empty-handed. Small town regiments were expected to stay close to home. They didn’t have the resources for a long hunt. After all, most were needed at home to stand guard and keep a watchful eye on the remaining livestock in case the bandits decided to strike twice.
Since Pamir was a part of our patrols, it came down to Sir Gavin’s squad to seek out the offenders and return the stallions to the desperate merchants.
“These are no ordinary bandits,” the envoys had warned. And they were right. Within a couple of hours the thieves’ tracks had all but disappeared.
“Forty horses don’t just vanish into thin air.” Lief studied the dirt. “My guess is they had someone with magic casting alongside them. It’s the only explanation.”
I nudged my mare forward. “Do you think it’s the rebels?”
The lead mage shook his head vigorously. “The rebels don’t bother this far north.”
“Why not?” Ray was just as curious as me.
“All the Crown’s Army reports state attacks south of the capital.” Lief didn’t seem concerned. “There hasn’t been so much as a whiff near the border.”
I frowned. It was true the Red Desert had the salt flats in the south, one of the nation’s most profitable exports, but what about the armory in Ferren and the horse breeders in the townships up north? We traded with those too, did we not?
Ian noted my expression and drew closer. “The rebels don’t bother us up here. There’s no point. Caltoth does the job for them.”
“Do you think King Horrace is the one financing their efforts?”
His eyes stayed focused on the woods around us. “Perhaps.”
Next to me Paige scoffed. “If it were that easy all we’d need to do is round up one and beat the fool ‘til he sings. End the war with Caltoth and those sorry rebels in one easy strike of the fist.”
Ian’s eyes flashed under the bright rays of the afternoon sun. “That’s a bit—”
“What? Cruel? Well they shouldn’t have turned traitors. My brother died serving in Port Cyri because of a rebel attack!”
Lief cleared his throat and took over for Ian. “No one is defending those rebels, Paige. But I can tell you that this isn’t them. They stick south. We get thefts up north all the time because of the border raids. When their livelihood is destroyed, they turn to crime. It’s not right, but it happens.”