The Emerald Storm (The Riyria Revelations #4)

“Merrick found out somehow. He’s doing the same thing Gravis tried. He’s blocked the portals and when they try to vent during the harvest moon the gas and molten rock will have nowhere to go. The whole mountain will blow. And that’s what Merrick meant about turning the tide of war for the empire. Delgos supports the Nationalists, funded largely by Cornelius DeLur. When they eliminated Gaunt, they cut off the rebellion’s head. Now they will cut out its legs. Destroying Delgos will mean the New Empire will only need to deal with Melengar.”


“But those ships we saw in the harbor were not just Tenkin. The vast majority were Ghazel,” Hadrian pointed out. “Gile thinks he can use them as muscle, as his attack dogs, but goblins can’t be tamed. He can’t control them. The empire is handing Delgos over to the Ba Ran Ghazel. Once they entrench themselves the goblins will become a greater threat to the empire than the Nationalists ever were.”

“I doubt Merrick cares,” Royce opined.

“You stole the letter from me and read it?” Wesley asked Royce. “And you had us deliver it to the warlord knowing it would launch an invasion?”

“Are you saying you wouldn’t have? Those were your orders, sanctioned by the regents themselves.”

“But giving Delgos to that…that…insane man and the Ghazel, it’s…it’s…”

“It’s your sworn duty as an officer of the empire.”

Wesley stared, aghast. “My father used to say, ‘A knight draws his sword for three reasons: to defend himself, to defend the weak, and to defend his lord’, but he always added, ‘Never defend yourself against the truth, never defend the weakness in others and never defend a lord without honor.’ I don’t see how anyone can find honor in feeding a child to goblins or handing over a nation of men to the Ghazel horde.”

“Why did you let him deliver the letter?” Hadrian asked.

“I just read it tonight during the water break. It was my last chance to get a look, and I figured if we showed up completely empty handed we’d be killed right away.”

“I won’t be party to this…this…atrocity! We must prevent Drumindor’s destruction,” Wesley announced.

“You realize interfering with this would be treason?” Royce told Wesley.

“By ordering the delivery of every man, woman, and child in Tur Del Fur into the bloodthirsty hands of the Ba Ran Ghazel, the empress has committed treason to her subjects. It is I who remain loyal…loyal to the cause of honor.”

“It might comfort you to know that it is highly unlikely that Empress Modina gave this order,” Hadrian told him. “We know her—met her before she became empress. She would never sanction anything like this. I was in the palace the day before we sailed from Aquesta and she is not in charge. The regents are the ones behind this.”

“One thing’s for sure, if we foil Merrick’s plan we won’t have to look for him anymore. He’ll find us,” Royce added.

“This is all my fault.” Wesley sighed. “My first command and look where it has led.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. You did fine.” Hadrian patted him on the shoulder. “But your duty is done now. You completed the task your lord set for you. Everything after this is of your own choosing.”

“Not much of a choice, I’m afraid,” he said, looking around their cell.

“How long before the rise of the harvest moon?” Royce asked.

“About two weeks I would guess,” Hadrian replied.

“It would take us too long to travel back by land. How long would it take us to get there by sea, Wyatt?”

“With the wind at our backs, we’d make the trip in a fraction of the time it took us to come out. Week and a half, two maybe.”

“Then we still have time.”

“Time for what?” Wesley asked. “We’re locked in the dungeon of a madman at the edge of the world. Merely surviving will be a feat.”

“You are far too pessimistic for one so young,” Royce told him.

Wesley let out a small laugh. “All right, Seaman Melborn, how do you propose we sneak down to the harbor, capture a ship loaded with Ghazel warriors, and sail it out of a bay past an armada, when we can’t even get out of this locked cell?”

Royce gave the door a gentle push and it swung open. “I unlocked it while you were ranting,” he said.

Wesley’s face showed his astonishment. “You’re not just a seaman, are you?”

“Wait here,” said Royce, slipping out.

He was gone for several minutes. They heard no sound. When he returned Poe, Derning, Grady, Dilladrum and the Vintu followed and Royce had blood on his dagger and a ring of keys in his hand.

“What about the others?” Wesley asked.

“Don’t worry I won’t forget about them,” Royce said, with a devilish grin. When he left, the others followed. A guard lay dead in a pool of blood and Royce was already at the door of the last cell.

“We don’t need to be released,” Defoe said, from behind the door. “I could open it myself if I wanted to get out.”

“I’m not here to let you out,” Royce said, opening the door.

Defoe backed up and drew his dagger.

“Stay out of this, Defoe,” Royce told him. “So far you’ve just been doing a job. I get that, but stand between me and Thranic and it gets personal.”

“Mister Melborn!” Wesley snapped. “I can’t let you kill Thranic.”

Royce ignored him, and Wesley appealed to Hadrian who shrugged in response. “It’s a policy of mine not to get in his way, especially when the other guy deserves it.”

Wesley turned to Wyatt whose expression showed no compassion. “He burned a shipload of elves, and for all I know was responsible for taking my daughter. Let him die.”

Doctor Levy stepped aside leaving Thranic alone at the back of the cell with only his dagger for protection. By his grip and stance, Hadrian knew the sentinel was not a knife fighter. The sentinel was sweating, his eyes tense as Royce moved inp>“Might I ask why you’re killing Mister Thranic?” Bulard asked suddenly, stepping between them. “Those of you intent on fleeing could make better use of your time than butchering a man in his cell, don’t you think?”

“Won’t take but a second,” Royce assured him.

“Perhaps, perhaps, but I ask you not to. I am not saying he does not deserve death, but who are you to grant it? Thranic will die, and quite likely soon given where we are headed. Regardless, our mission is vital not just to the empire, but to all of mankind, and we will need Thranic if we are to have any hope to complete it.”

“Shut up, you old fool,” the sentinel growled.

This caught Royce’s attention, though he kept his eyes on Thranic. “What mission?”

“To find a very old and very important relic called the Horn of Gylindora that will be needed very soon I’m afraid.”

“The horn?” Hadrian repeated.

“Yes, given our precarious situation I don’t think it wise to give you a history lesson just now, but suffice to say it is in all of our best interest to leave Thranic alive—for now.”

“Sorry,” Royce replied, “but you’ll just have to make do without—”

The door to the cellblock opened, and a pair of soldiers with meal plates stepped in. A quick glance at the dead guard and they ran.

Royce sprinted after them. Defoe quickly closed his cell door again.

“Go, all of you!” Bulard urged.

The party ran out of the cellblock and up the stairs. By the time they reached the top, the hallway was filled with loud voices.

“They got away,” Royce grumbled.