The Shadow Throne (Ascendance 3)

The soldiers of Mendenwal entered the river together, entire rows of men moving across it in time with the beat of their drums.

Once the trenches were full, I ordered the archers to light their arrows and then shoot. They weren’t aiming for the men — there were far too many for us to get them all. They were to aim for the water.

The first few arrows entered the water and were immediately extinguished. But those in the next round found the patch of oil, which instantly lit the river as bright as the midday sun. Fire traveled in ripples up and down the water, burning wherever it was fueled, and licking the men in its path. The soldiers scrambled to get away, but the flames would not be stopped so easily. The others who had not yet entered ran to avoid the flames now spreading to land. Within seconds, Mendenwal was awash in chaos, and their leaders were having trouble regaining control. The drumbeats, I noticed, were gone.

Once the fire burned itself out, I heard Roden shouting from his tower. I moved until I could see him, standing on the ladder so that he was as visible as possible.

“You came to these lines as farmers and tailors and merchants,” he said. “But you stand here now as soldiers, in defense of your king, your country, and your families. Nothing is more sacred than their lives, and those who fall in their service will be carried to the afterlife on the wings of angels. Do not hesitate. Do not falter. Do not doubt that we will succeed. I will celebrate with you at the end of this night!”

With a loud whoop, he then sent all remaining men away from the lines again to finish the battle. I remained stunned for a moment. The Roden I had known was slow with words, full of self-doubt, and wouldn’t have been able to inspire even the most eager warrior. Had such a speech really come from his mouth?

Yes, of course it had. Glimmers of this person had appeared at times when we were together at Farthenwood, even when he didn’t know it. I knew this was in him, but just hadn’t anticipated he would find his way this well or this quickly. Perhaps it was arrogant to congratulate myself on having chosen such an excellent captain, but I couldn’t help it. He was exactly the leader I had expected him to be.

When I raised my sword and started to leave with the men, Mott asked me to stay back, for my own safety. I rolled my eyes to let him know I had no intention of that, and so without delay, he leapt over the mounds of earth at my side and we dove into the battle. The fighting was still hard, but it was obvious that many of Mendenwal’s soldiers had run once the fire broke out. Their king wasn’t here and their leaders were far too spread out now to be effective. Likely, many of them had no better idea why they were in this war than I did.

Within another hour, more Carthyans arrived from the same direction as Mott and I had come. Certainly, these were the extra soldiers from the Falstan camp, and they were fresh and eager to prove themselves. With their help, and Bymar’s continuing support, a retreat was soon called by Mendenwal, and shouts of victory were raised through my armies. Mendenwal emptied from the field faster than I could have imagined possible, with Bymar and Carthya still in pursuit.

Roden found me shortly after. He was on horseback and looked exhausted, but as far as I could tell, he was uninjured. He had another horse with him, a smaller one, which he offered to me. I pointed out he should give me the larger horse that he was riding, but Roden insisted he was quite comfortable already and if I didn’t want the small horse, he would find someone who did. As we laughed, Mott said he would stay behind and help with the wounded, then meet me again behind the lines.

I climbed onto the horse and Roden said, “You don’t need to stay here tonight. Harlowe told me what you went through in Avenia. You’ll rest better if I take you back to the castle.”

“And miss all the fun?” I asked. “No, I’ve been away from my armies long enough. They will see me here.” We rode farther, and then I asked, “Are they your armies too?”

He weighed that in silence, and just when I thought he had decided never to answer me, he said, “It is always your army, Jaron. But they are my men now.”

“What changed?”

He shrugged. “I did. I realized that I couldn’t expect them to think better of me than I thought of myself. So if I believed I was too young or stupid or inexperienced to be a captain, then that’s all I would ever be.”

“So what do you believe now?”

Refusing that question, he only chuckled instead. “I believe you need a solid meal. I’d think with the way Mott watches over you, that he’d be more concerned for your health, and stuff a meat pie in your mouth every time you open it.”

I laughed along with him. “He’d probably like to try that, just to keep me from talking myself into trouble all the time.”

“That’s not a bad idea, you know. We have no meat pies behind our lines, but there will be good food to celebrate this victory.”

“How are the people in Drylliad? Do they have enough food?”

Roden shrugged. “That’s a constant concern. Far more people came to the city than anyone expected and shortages came with them. Lord Harlowe needed more supplies, but the men couldn’t keep the walls open and defend them too.”

“Then how —”

“You met the women at the river, didn’t you?” When I said I had, he continued, “The women in Drylliad told us that if we could push the battle this far from the city walls, then they would keep the supply lines open. The men may have fought for this city, but it will be the women who save it.”

They reminded me of Amarinda, who had risked her life to return to the throne in my absence. And Imogen, who had given her life to save mine. It would take entire lifetimes for the men of Carthya to deserve their women.

At supper that night, the soldiers toasted one another and celebrated Roden’s name and mine for the strategies that gave us the win. I raised my own cup to them, but seeds of worry had sprouted in my mind and eventually I had to walk away. I couldn’t quite explain what was wrong, but that only bothered me more.

When Roden followed me to ask about it, I said, “Does it feel like today’s fight was too easy?”

“Easy?” Roden gestured toward the battlefield. “Do you know how many men fell out there? How close we came to losing?”

“Yes, and I don’t take that lightly. But something about it just doesn’t feel right.”

Clearly angry now, Roden crossed directly in front of me. “If it feels easy to you, then it’s because you’ve been apart from the war for too many days. Every man still here fought hard for his life and did his job while his brothers fell around him. Stay with us for longer than a day and you’ll change your mind about how easy you think this was!”

I started to argue back but he stomped away. Mott came up to me, and when I tried to explain, he only took my empty bowl, insisting he would get me more to eat.