“I sent him to find you.”
The general raised an eyebrow. “I would be hard to find. I did not reach Dompstead until a few minutes ago and came directly to you.”
“I know,” the king said. “But the boy needed something to occupy his mind, and a fool’s errand seemed as good as any. What news do you bring from Sondhold?”
The general hung his head. “The city is lost, sire. We were surprised, outnumbered – ”
“I need no excuses,” the king interrupted. “Did you see the Dragon?”
“No, sire, we did but hear rumor of it. I saw the duke, however. It was Shippening. His army came out of the Wood and set upon the city.”
“Out of the Wood?”
“Indeed, sire, impossible though it may seem.”
“What of Una?” the king asked.
“I have seen or heard nothing of the princess, Your Majesty,” Argus said.
The king’s fists clenched. “We must save her.” He rose to his feet, swayed, steadied himself, and repeated, “We must save her, Argus. Now.”
“Your Majesty,” Argus said, “I have sent word to garrisons all across Parumvir. Men are coming to help us. But meanwhile our position here in Dompstead is all too vulnerable. With the men I have, I’m not sure I can protect you sufficiently.”
“What are you saying?” Fidel asked.
“Sire, I must beg you to pull back. I lost too many men yesterday. We are weakened beyond belief, and you say there is a dragon involved as well?” Argus shook his head. “I beg you, my king, you must retreat to one of your northern fortresses, away from here at all costs.”
“No.”
“Go into hiding until we have a chance to rebuild.”
“No.”
“If we attack now, we will be destroyed. We’re not strong enough, sire.”
The king turned his back on the general, gazing deep into the fire. “He warned me,” he muttered. “He warned me of this very day. And now the beast has her. What’s to stop the rest of his prediction from coming true? My own daughter.” He clutched his side as though in pain but waved off Argus’s offered arm. “We must save Una,” he said. “Before it’s too late.”
“Your Majesty – ”
“Send Felix to the north,” Fidel said, strength returning to his voice.
“Send my son, but I cannot go as long as that monster holds her.”
“Sire,” Argus spoke gently. “We have no assurance that she is yet living. I . . . I fear it may not be so, and you must accept that she might be – ”
“That would be almost too much to hope for,” Fidel said. “No, we must save her or know for certain that she is dead. I will not leave otherwise. Gather your men as quickly as you can, Argus. We will return to Oriana.”
–––––––
It wasn’t true, Una decided.
She crawled out of her closet hours later and sat down at her vanity.
It couldn’t be true.
Hunting up matches, she lit a candle and set it off to her right. As though it were any other evening, she took up her brush and ran it through her tangle of hair – twenty strokes, fifty, one hundred.
It isn’t true, she told herself. The Dragon is a liar. Leonard wouldn’t forget me.
She changed from her ash-covered dress into another ash-covered dress.
I promised to trust him.
She poured cloudy water into a bowl and tried to wash her hands.
How can I be worthy of his love if I do not trust him now?
She looked at her face in the mirror, deathly white, streaked with soot, eyes wide and tearless.
“I will trust him,” she said.
–––––––
Felix gave up searching for General Argus and instead occupied himself hunting for Monster, whom he’d not seen since their arrival the night before. This search was also unsuccessful, and he realized partway through the day that he had not truly slept in well over twenty-four hours. The instant that realization struck, he was overwhelmed with exhaustion. He sat with his back against the wall of the barracks and, ignoring the glances of passing soldiers, fell immediately into deep sleep.
He was awakened by a rough hand shaking him. “Wake up, Prince Felix.”
Felix blinked blearily up into the face of the same young officer who had brought him a stool last night. At the same time he became aware of a great commotion in the garrison yard – the ring of metal and the stamp of boots, officers shouting commands – which in his weariness he had slept through. “What’s going on?” Felix asked, rubbing his eyes with one hand and pushing himself upright with the other.
“The king is mustering for attack,” the officer said. “They will set upon Sondhold day after tomorrow.”
Felix came fully awake at those words and sprang to his feet. “Where is my father? I must have a horse and a weapon – ”