As the one soldier rejoined the rest of the group, Kyra gave up completely on watching the main road and focused on these men. They were taking tunics out of sacks now and putting them on. The tunics were colored deep blue. Edlan blue.
This time Kyra did gasp, and it was only the men’s lack of attention that kept her from discovery. Puzzle pieces fell in place in her mind. She remembered the group of soldiers who had stumbled upon her family with Pashla and Adele in the forest. They’d looked like seasoned soldiers instead of peasants. One had told Kyra that “His Grace” didn’t want people in the forest. It was a funny way to put things, since Forge citizens almost always referred to the Council as a whole. The man had been an Edlan soldier hiding under the guise of Willem’s Demon Rider offensive. Did Willem know about this? If Willem had betrayed the city, what had happened to Tristam and Malikel?
The gathered soldiers were dressed now, and they began to march toward Forge. Kyra waited until they had gone some distance, then came down from her hiding place and trailed them. When she came out of the trees, her heart almost stopped. From her vantage point, she had only seen one group of soldiers. But now that she was in open farmland, she could see multiple companies taking up formation and converging on the main road. The muted thuds of their boots carried over the fields.
Kyra shielded her eyes and squinted toward the city. The gates still looked to be open. Did the Palace have any idea what was happening?
No, they likely did not.
In front of her, the soldiers marched at a quick pace, and people took notice. Those on the road and fields ran, some retreating into their houses and others running for the city gates. One older man shouted defiantly at the troops. Two Edlan soldiers cut him down.
Finally, the call of bugles drifted from the city, and the gate began to close. Soldiers, just dots from this distance, ran along the parapets. Kyra breathed a sigh of relief. Someone had sounded the alarm.
But the Edlan troops continued to march.
Disgraceful. That was how Malikel had described Forge’s response to the attack. Yes, they had been betrayed. Yes, they’d had little warning of Edlan’s approaching troops. But still, the Palace’s forces had been far too slow to react. Messages between wall sentries and the Palace had gone astray. Commands had been dithered over and questioned. Tristam himself had been shocked at how greatly the forces’ discipline had fallen short of what it should have been. Part of it was due to Malikel’s removal from command. Part of it had been the confusion sowed by Willem’s schemes. But whatever the reason, the city was in dire straits.
The watch had barely managed to close the city gates in time, and archers were still running to their stations. Tristam stood on the parapets next to Malikel, surveying the scene outside the city. The main road led out from the gates. On a normal day, Tristam would have been able to follow it with his eyes as it passed houses, then farmland, until it disappeared into the forest. Today though, the road was blocked by Edlan soldiers. Rows of them, lined up in formation on the road and spilling into the farmland on either side. Scouts had confirmed that Edlan had blocked the roads to the south as well. Groups of people fled their homes with hastily wrapped bundles on their backs, some running for the protection of Forge’s walls, and others for the forest.
“Edlan could have taken the city,” said Malikel. “If they’d wanted to, they could have marched right in.” There had been some confusion about who would act as Head Councilman after Willem’s defection. The laws indicated Malikel, but none of the laws took into account what to do if the second in line was currently under investigation. In the end, Malikel had been given temporary authority until the Edlanese were defeated.
“Why do you think they didn’t?” asked Tristam.
“Willem is a man of Forge at heart. He doesn’t want to see it looted or damaged.”