Alliance (27 page)

Ryneq closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of Nykin’s warm skin. He smelled clean and fresh, but still with the ever-present undercurrent of magic and leather. Ryneq breathed deeply, letting it fill his senses. He had his arm slung over Nykin’s waist and his hand splayed on his stomach, rising and falling with Nykin’s every breath.

“Nykin.” He felt Nykin tense under his hand, and Ryneq wished he didn’t have to ruin the air of calm surrounding them, but he needed to make sure. “I know we’ve discussed this, but if it comes down to it, I need to know that you’ll follow orders and leave for Alel with the others.” Nykin sucked in a breath, as though to interrupt, but Ryneq carried on talking. “I don’t know what Seran will do if he gains access to the castle, but if I’m to have a chance at staying alive and saving my people until you return, I can’t be worrying that he might get his hands on you or Fimor. As soon as Eldin gives the order to leave, you go. No hesitation.”

Nykin’s whole body remained coiled tight, the muscles under Ryneq’s palm pulled taut with tension. Ryneq sighed and began to rub his hand up and down in an attempt to get Nykin to relax.

“You need to trust me, Nykin. Seran is greedy. He’ll want the dragons, and if I’m able to convince him that I can get them to come back, then I’m confident he’ll keep us alive.”

While not strictly true—he had no way to accurately predict what Seran and the witch would do—Ryneq needed Nykin to believe him or Nykin wouldn’t go. Ryneq knew how stubbornly loyal Nykin could be, but in this instant it wouldn’t do either of them any favors. “I have every faith that the elves will find a way to defeat the witch, and when they do, you’ll come back. But first you need to escape. Promise me, Nykin?”

Eventually Nykin let out a long breath, and the tension slowly faded away. “You talk as though it’s inevitable. I thought it was a ‘worst-case scenario.’ Do you think we aren’t strong enough to hold them off?”

“In theory I think we have more than a good chance, especially with the help of the elves. But we don’t know enough about the witch. Magic is unpredictable and….” He paused, not knowing whether to share this with Nykin or not, but it had been eating at him for the past couple of days. “And I can’t shake the feeling that we’re missing something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, it’s just….” He propped himself up on one elbow so he could face Nykin. “It’s all been too easy so far. The witch attacks the barrier, we attack their camp, then nothing. They don’t try anything else. I know they can’t get in with the barrier in place, but it just feels off. Seran outmaneuvered us in Alel. I fear we may be underestimating him.”

Nykin reached up to cup his face, and Ryneq leaned into it. “Have you discussed this with Nysad or Eldin?”

“Not yet.” He’d pushed the thought aside when the second attack began, blamed his feelings on constantly being on edge. But it remained, gnawing at him, and Ryneq refused to ignore it any longer. His instincts had kept him alive more than once, after all. “I’ll discuss it with them both tomorrow.”

“Maybe they’ll have some insight.”

“Maybe.” He settled back down, with his head on Nykin’s chest again. Ryneq felt lighter having shared that, and the events of the day caught up to him all of a sudden and he yawned. “I still need your promise, Nykin.” He hadn’t missed how Nykin had avoided answering before.

The silence stretched between them, and Ryneq waited. He wouldn’t pressure Nykin again. He wanted him to agree on his own accord, or it would be meaningless.

Finally Nykin put his hand on the small of Ryneq’s back and pulled him closer with a resigned sigh. “I promise.”

The victory may have been bittersweet, but at least Nykin would be safe if the palace fell. Ryneq closed his eyes and let the rhythm of Nykin’s breathing lull him to sleep.

R
YNEQ
WANTED
to talk with Nysad before the meeting, leaving Nykin to get dressed on his own. Thane took care of the bath when he brought them an early breakfast, and now the room felt a little empty with both it and Ryneq gone. They’d eaten in silence, not exactly an uncomfortable one, but they’d said everything they needed to last night.

Nykin refused to be happy about the contingency plans Ryneq had put in place, but he would follow orders. He pulled on his boots and tied the laces tight as his mood darkened. He didn’t understand why Seran was so obsessed with getting into Torsere. He’d understood the first attack, when Cerylea had yet to marry Morkryn, but the rest of it made less and less sense.

From what Nykin remembered, Seran wasn’t stupid. He must realize that the dragons would fly away rather than let themselves be captured. He may end up getting the palace, but Seran came from the lowlands, and Nykin doubted very much he’d want to live in the mountains of Torsere. Soon enough, Torsere would come under elven protection, and even if Seran held the palace, Nykin had the feeling he wouldn’t do so for long after that.

Nykin strapped a dagger to his thigh and two short swords over his back before adjusting his jacket and taking a deep breath. The weapons felt foreign. He didn’t normally wear them when he patrolled, having no intention of landing and engaging in hand-to-hand combat. But this time he had no idea what might happen, or when. He rolled his shoulders, getting a feel for the additional weight on his back, before pulling open the door and heading to the great hall.

He heard voices echoing along the passageways, and when he rounded the corner, he spotted Selene and Lerran walking through the doors behind a couple of Ryneq’s personal guards. Nykin hurried to catch up with them and reached Selene’s side just as Lerran left her to join the rest of the elves.

“Hey.” Nykin touched her elbow, making her startle. “Why didn’t Lerran stay with you?” As Nykin glanced around the huge room, it appeared that the three different groups were keeping to themselves. The guard stood around chatting over to the right, with the elves on the left and the dragon riders more to the back of the hall. He’d thought recent events might have merged them a little, but evidently not.

Selene shrugged beside him. “Lerran had something to discuss with Faelon.” She smirked over at the guards. “I guess some things never change, though.”

Nykin said hello to some of the riders from his team as they filtered through the door. He looked around, counting heads and noticing there were still a few missing, notably Jaken and Eldin. Eldin had more than likely been called in to see Ryneq before they addressed everyone else. “Where’s Jaken?”

Selene sighed, and when she met Nykin’s gaze, he caught the sadness in her eyes. “He’s saying good-bye to his mother. He said he wasn’t sure if he’d get another chance and didn’t want to risk it.”

Nykin nodded. If his parents had still been alive, he’d be doing exactly the same about now. “What about you?”

Selene shifted uncomfortably. “Oh, you know me, Nykin. I never was one for a long, tearful good-bye.”

He caught the sudden sheen in her eyes and dropped the subject quickly. “So, when do you think it’ll happen?” It may have been an unsubtle change of topic, but Selene seemed to be grateful for it.

“I think sooner rather than later. They know how vulnerable we’ll be after the barrier fails. Why wait?”

Nykin had been thinking the same thing. Given Seran’s dogged persistence, surely he’d want to attack as soon as the witch’s magic returned. Before he had the chance to voice his opinions, the room fell into an abrupt silence as Ryneq entered, followed by Nysad and Eldin. The guards and the riders all immediately stood to attention, with the elves watching quietly.

“As you are all no doubt aware,” Ryneq began, wasting no time, “the magical barrier erected by the elves will fail on the witch’s next attack.” He looked around at the people present and paused for a moment when his gaze landed on Nykin, and Nykin felt the familiar heat that look always caused. “We don’t know exactly when that might be, so from this point forward, everyone will be on full alert.”

From the corner of his eyes, Nykin caught Glaevahl raising his hand “If I may, Your Highness?” Ryneq nodded for him to continue. “The witch’s magic returned more quickly than we were expecting after her first attack, so it is reasonable to assume that it will also be the case for this last attack.”

“Meaning?”

“It’s hard to gauge through the barrier, but we believe that she’ll be back to her full strength by now, Sire.”

Ryneq’s expression faltered, probably too quick for most people to notice, but Nykin saw it. “Well in that case, I’ll make this as brief as possible, and then we can all get back to our stations.” He moved to stand in the center of the room. “From what we understand from previous encounters, Seran and his witch are ostensibly after Torsere’s dragons and are willingly to do just about anything to get their hands on them. I am assuming from their current position that they mean to come through the palace to get access to the Eyrie. The remaining villagers who sought refuge inside our walls are being moved to some of the larger tunnels beneath the palace, where hopefully they will be safe from the fighting. Those who are willing and able have been armed and are waiting with the rest of the guard in the barracks.”

Ryneq turned to face Nysad, gesturing for the captain of his guard to come forward and speak.

“The archers will hold the outer wall as long as possible. As soon as it’s breached, they’ll fall back to the inner wall and let the guard take over, while still providing as much cover as possible.” Nysad eyed the guards present with a mixture of pride and determination. “We will not let Seran inside the inner wall or the palace.” He nodded at Ryneq and stepped back.

The room was so quiet, Nykin felt as though everyone in it collectively held their breath.

“The dragon riders will provide aerial cover, focusing on keeping the wall intact and incapacitating the witch if the opportunity arises.” Ryneq paused, pointedly not looking in Nykin’s direction as he delivered the next bit. “If Seran manages to gain access to the palace and we are unable to eradicate him and his men, the dragon riders will leave with the elves and retreat to Alel.”

At this declaration, a soft murmuring started. Obviously not everyone had been aware of this, mainly the guards, and the revelation must have come as a bit of a shock. Torsere relied on its dragons to protect them from the air, and Ryneq had just informed them the dragons would flee when they were needed most. It made Nykin bristle as the guards eyed them with suspicion.

Ryneq’s loud voice cut through the room, silencing everyone. “These are my orders. Understand that the dragon riders would rather stay and fight, but to do so would mean their inevitable capture, and that is exactly what Seran’s after.” He looked over at Eldin, standing stony-faced next to Nysad. And for the first time, Nykin realized that Eldin didn’t like these orders any more than he did. “They are not deserting us. The elves will work on finding a way to protect the riders from the witch so they can kill her. And then they will return to rid Torsere of her presence.”

Eldin stepped forward when bidden. As he looked over the riders waiting patiently for him to speak, he wore the same expression of pride and determination as Nysad had moments before. “We will not wait for the barrier to fail. The witch will hopefully focus all her magic on getting it to break, and we will take the opportunity to attack. Our aim is to prevent Seran from breaching the outer wall, and if that fails, then we will protect the inner wall at all costs. The witch’s magic will be depleted, but not gone, so be on your guard and try to keep your group shields in place as long as you can.”

He walked closer until he stood directly in front of them, every rider focused solely on Eldin’s voice. “If we get the order to leave, then you will not hesitate to follow those orders, but I want you to make sure that it never comes to that. They will attack the wall with ladders and whatever else they have up their sleeves, so we will target those. Do not let them in.”

A chorus of “yes, sir” sounded loudly, and Nykin noticed Eldin’s small smile as he turned and walked back over to Ryneq.

“Glaevahl,” Ryneq said, and everyone’s gaze automatically shifted to the elves.

They’d politely refused Ryneq’s offer of returning to Alel before the fighting began, but Nykin didn’t really understand what role they would play in the fight. He knew Avelor, Faelon, and Lerran were part of the royal guard in Alel, and the other elves who came were also fighters. But not Glaevahl.

Glaevahl inclined his head and stepped forward, clearly unbothered that everyone had turned their focus on the elves. “As you know, we number three royal guard and ten city guard. And myself. While the others are seasoned fighters, I feel our best course of action would be to concentrate on the witch and her magic. She will no doubt use it to break through your defenses, and while we may not be able to keep the barrier intact, we can certainly limit the damage she may cause.”

“Agreed,” Ryneq said. “You also need to remain close to the Eyrie.” He didn’t need to explain why.

“We’ve already packed everything we need to take, should it come to that.”