Chapter Thirty-five

Their bubble had to burst eventually. As dawn broke outside, they could no longer ignore the noise of the war camp being dismantled. Thea dragged herself from the warmth of the cot and Wilder with a moan. Every muscle in her body ached savagely; the cold made matters even worse. A grunt from Wilder told her he was faring just as poorly.

‘Getting too old for battles, Warsword?' she teased, watching him roll his shoulders with a wince.

‘Maybe if someone hadn't kept me up all night I'd be in better shape.'

‘I heard no complaints,' she quipped, smiling.

He laughed. ‘And you never will.'

When they emerged from the tent, the icy air bit at Thea's nose and cheeks, but she hardly noticed as the sight before her stole the breath from her lungs. The entire camp and the battlefield beyond were carpeted in fresh snow, the glare from the sun nearly blinding.

‘It's like it never happened,' she said quietly.

There was no black or red blood staining the ground, no corpses littering the field. The only evidence from the massacre the day before was the huge mound beneath which Thea assumed the body of the frost giant lay, and the odd spear sticking up through the snow. From last night's debrief, she knew that any coherent prisoners had been put in chains and grouped in smaller units to be escorted to Vios, while any remaining wounded monsters and cursed men had been slaughtered and buried.

‘Feels wrong, doesn't it?' Wilder murmured beside her, surveying the land alongside her. ‘Like all those deaths, and all that suffering, was just wiped clean from the world.'

Thea scanned the plain, where just yesterday they had fought tooth and nail against the darkness, where Kipp had nearly lost his life, and so many others had… It came back to her in flashes: the feel of a throat opening beneath her blade, the shadows lashing for Wilder as he climbed atop the frost giant, that arachne fang sticking out of Kipp's heart. And Artos, bound with bolts of lightning, screaming.

Thea turned towards the command tent. ‘Let's find Talemir and the rest.'

‘About fucking time,' Anya said as they entered.

Torj looked up from where he was rolling several maps together. ‘I advised her against interrupting.'

That brought a laugh to Thea's lips as she recalled how he, Cal and Kipp had made that mistake in Harenth. ‘Where are we headed?' she asked.

‘The Singing Hare, of course,' Kipp's voice sounded from behind her.

She whirled around and threw her arms around her friend. ‘You're here.'

‘Where else would I be?' he replied with his usual grin.

Thea held him at arm's length, surveying him. ‘You're truly healed?'

Kipp bowed his head, suddenly sincere. ‘Thanks to you.'

‘What would the midrealms be without the Son of the Fox?' She hugged him again, hoping that the image of him lying dead in the snow would eventually fade in time, for its echo haunted her now, even as he stood whole and healthy before her.

‘A dull place indeed,' Kipp declared. ‘So, you're all packed?'

‘We're not really going to the Singing Hare…' she said, glancing from Kipp to Torj. ‘Are we?'

The Bear Slayer huffed a laugh. ‘Don't ask me how he managed it, but actually, yes. We're heading there as soon as the final preparations are made.'

Thea blinked at her friend. ‘How in the realms —'

‘I simply pointed out the strategic benefits to our commanders,' Kipp replied, having the gall to look baffled. He counted them on his fingers. ‘The town has supplies we need and medical facilities for our wounded. We need a secure location to interrogate the false king. It's on the way to Vios, where, after we're done with his questioning, Artos will be handed over to Queen Reyna to face trial for the murder of King Elkan. The good men and women of the midrealms need a morale boost… Plus, I'm not dead. We need to celebrate.'

Wilder shook his head in disbelief. ‘And you managed to convince Talemir, Drue, Esyllt and Queen Reyna of this?'

Torj snorted. ‘He did. I've never seen anything so persuasive. Though I'm not sure his motivations are entirely altruistic.'

Kipp made a noise of shock, his hand flying to his chest. ‘You wound me, Bear Slayer.'

‘You'll live.'

‘I almost didn't,' Kipp reminded him.

‘Well, luckily Thea didn't listen to your dying wish for sour mead and gave you her springwater instead,' Wilder interjected.

Kipp bowed his head in reverence to Thea. ‘For which I'll forever be in her debt.'

Wilder nudged Thea. ‘Perhaps you can use that to get me out of the favour I owe him.'

Chuckling, Thea shook her head and smiled sweetly. ‘Not a chance, Warsword. I want to see what sort of insanity the Son of the Fox asks of you.'

Kipp slung his arm around her shoulder. ‘That's the spirit.'

Thea leant into her friend's embrace, fighting back the disbelief that he was truly here after the horrors of yesterday.

‘Enough fucking around,' Anya said sharply. ‘We're due to head out within the hour. Commanders, Warswords, heirs and a mismatch of other personnel will travel by shadow magic to the tavern. We're bringing the prisoner with us. He doesn't leave our sight.'

‘And Queen Reyna?' Thea asked.

‘On her way to a mountain residence before we meet her back in Vios for the trial. Her troops will travel with what's left of the cavalry unit and our army to the Singing Hare and the main town.'

‘Shouldn't we stay and help?' Wilder cut in.

Anya ran her hands over her shaved head. ‘I suggested as much, but they were united in their stance: make haste and deal with Artos.'

‘And what of his forces?' Thea blurted. ‘What of Tver? And the reapers?'

‘We won't know until we question him. Dratos and Vernich started last night, but he wasn't entirely lucid after his encounter with you and me,' Anya replied. ‘Our healers advised that we need to get him warm and fed before the real interrogation can begin.'

Thea made a face. The thought of caring for the bastard who'd wrought so much suffering on the world didn't sit right with her.

‘I thought the same initially,' Anya offered. ‘But it was our sweet sister who pointed out: what good is the first cut of many if he can't feel it?'

Kipp gaped. ‘Elwren said that?'

Thea patted him on the shoulder. ‘You'll slowly learn that of the three Embervale sisters, Wren is the one to fear the most.'

She chanced a glimpse at Torj, who was busying himself with the buckles on a pack, but the Bear Slayer didn't seem surprised in the least, as though he'd known all along where the true danger lay.

Thea turned back to Anya. ‘No sign of wraiths or reapers?'

‘None.'

‘Doesn't that —'

‘Make me uneasy as fuck? Yes,' Anya replied, hoisting her heavy fur cloak around her shoulders and tying it at the base of her throat. ‘But until we question Artos, we won't know any more. Talemir's got shadow-touched rangers scouting all over the midrealms, but for now… we go to the damn tavern.'

‘Where is Tal?' Wilder asked.

‘He went ahead with Drue and Adrienne.'

‘And Wren? Farissa?' Thea added.

‘Mixing tinctures and salves for the wounded in the infirmary. They're refusing to leave until it's all in hand.'

Thea nodded. ‘I'd expect nothing less. What of Audra?'

Silence followed.

Thea gaped. ‘No one has seen her at all?'

Anya shifted on her feet. ‘I was told she was spotted riding away from camp before the battle.'

‘What?' Thea blinked, looking around the tent, gobsmacked. ‘Audra would never.'

‘She might,' Torj said quietly. ‘If there was something only she could do…'

Thea's stomach bottomed out at the Bear Slayer's suggestion. But if he was right, and Audra had intended to find them allies, she had failed. ‘Do you think she's alright? She could be buried under all that snow for all we know…'

Torj raised a brow. ‘Knowing Audra… do you think that's likely?'

‘I don't know what to think anymore.'

The tent flap flung inward and Cal appeared, his quiver and bow draped over his shoulder, several dead hares hanging from his hand.

‘If it isn't Callahan the Flaming Arrow!' Kipp said gleefully. ‘What have you been up to?'

Cal shook his head, but couldn't seem to hide his joy at seeing Kipp back to his usual self. ‘Figured we might offer these to Everard as payment. I doubt he'll be accepting the king's coin from Thea this time around.'

Kipp simply shrugged. ‘You know what they say… Gold is gold.'

‘Who says that?' Cal demanded.

Another shrug. ‘People.'

Cal rolled his eyes. ‘When do we leave?'

‘Sylas Yarrow has command in our absence,' Anya said. ‘I'll brief him and find Dratos. Then we're out of here.'

‘Not again…' Wilder mumbled at Thea's side.

‘What is it?' she asked.

‘I…' He looked sheepish, an expression she had never seen on his handsome face. ‘I fucking hate shadow magic travel,' he admitted.

A smile lifted the corner of Thea's lips. ‘Oh?'

‘Makes me feel queasy, alright?'

Stifling her laughter, she squeezed his hand. ‘Alright.'

Anya took Thea and Kipp first, her shadows holding them in place, her wings beating loudly around them as the icy wind howled beneath them. Thea found the magic exhilarating. It felt freeing to soar through the crisp air, the landmarks below mere specks against the brilliant white snow. Chuckling under her breath, she thought of Wilder wrapped in Dratos' shadows, his eyes screwed shut in discomfort. It shouldn't make her laugh, really. But the idea that her formidable Warsword, who'd slayed countless monsters and faced the horrors of the Scarlet Tower, got queasy with a little shadow flight was a tad amusing.

She was thinking of him when her boots crunched atop fresh snow, and Anya's shadows dissipated, revealing Everard, the owner of the Singing Hare, standing beneath the tavern's swinging wooden sign.

He wore a broad grin as he greeted them all with outstretched hands. ‘Welcome back to the best tavern in the midrealms.'

Kipp strode forward, clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. ‘Second best, Everard, let's not get carried away.'