"What did you do this time?" she asked, sighing without deigning to look at him."Maybe you were right. Killing the old man has unleashed some chaos." The man turned to look at her, the wind had ruffled her golden and pink hair and moved it in front of her face.His cousin sighed and moved the strands of unruly hair behind her ears before turning to look at him; her green eyes seemed to have regained color; her facial features were relaxed, and there was even a trace of hilarity.The good mood will not last much longer."What did she do?" she repeated."Apart from letting those witch whores do damage to Mihdel, after she also caused damage?" She sighed and walked towards her warriors, as she unfastened her belt tied to her chest."I saw the damage they caused, cousin." She took off the belt to which the two scabbards of the two swords she held behind her shoulders were attached, according to her it was more comfortable to carr
They had summoned the Ucrie inside the commanders' hut. At the end of the room, on the opposite side of the entrance, they had placed three thrones made of tree branches, the backrest formed a sun with rays, standing wide in a circle.The three commanders entered with their heads held high, silence descended into the room. The man wore a gray cloak tied to his left side, his cousin had a bright red cloak, while Phoes had a dark blue cloak, similar to the color of the man's eyes.They quietly advanced and sat on the thrones. Phoes on the right and his cousin in the center, while he sat comfortably on the left, resting his chin on his hand, completely bored by the gnarly situation. He rested the ankle of one foot on the opposite knee and looked at the people inside the room.Nessa was in the middle of the Ucrie, her golden hair pulled back. On her neck she had the marks of two hands, marks that he had left her that morning.The commander gave
TarynTaryn watched Elhiàs Ackard, who returned her gaze, his icy blue eyes shining as they squared her head to toe."So," said Elhias, looking her in the eye, "I know you have a proposal for me, or so good old Practer told me." Then he pointed with his head to a man at the foot of the steps.The man was short and bald, with golden skin and very white teeth, while smiling at his king and nodding his head.Taront glanced at Taryn, silently asking permission to speak in her place. The Queen nodded imperceptibly, whereupon the Lord stepped forward and spoke."And it is Your Highness," Taront began.Elhiàs shifted his gaze from the queen to the young lord who had spoken. Taront had assumed a proud position, his chest out, with his head held high, he looked into the eyes of the young king, without showing any fear."And what is this proposal, Lord..." Elhiàs asked, peering at him with ice-colored eyes."Taront, Highness." The young man cleared his throat when Elhiàs nodded his head, giving
Taryn"Well, it went well," Taront said, pouring himself wine."Well?" snorted Grander next to Taryn as she ate."Elhiàs Ackard is known for not wasting time pondering decisions he does not find favorable," Taront replied."That doesn't mean he agrees to our proposal," Taryn said, looking out the window as she drank.The king's guards had goneto the residence that had been their lodging in those days, and had escorted Taryn's men who remained there to the fortress. Elhias had taken care to give a comfortable accommodation to everyone, leaving almost an entire wing of the fortress just for them. He had assigned Taryn the largest rooms with a huge balcony communicating with the rooms of his lords.At that moment Taryn found herself right on that balcony, sitting around an elaborate white marble table and flanked by her men.Taront and Grander thoughtfully sipped fine wine while servants served him dinner:A delicious roast meat and spices prepared especially for them.Aiden stood silen
SumonThe city was in mourning. People didn't walk the streets, they didn't do markets, they didn't talk. It was a sign of respect for the late king.The streets were empty, the taverns were closed, even the whores were locked up in their brothels and no one went to visit them.The masters had sent letters to the lords of the whole kingdom announcing the king's death and Nathan's upcoming coronation, inviting them to take part in the celebrations, pay their last homage to the old king and swear allegiance to the new one: it would have been the perfect excuse to actually see who was against Nathan's succession and who was not; it would have been the exact moment to understand who to watch your back from and who not, even if it all came from an extremely sad event for Nathan.Her husband had spent the previous days in total silence and solitude and Sumon could only imagine how he felt at that moment.Three days had passed since King Urian's death. The body had been brought into the tem
SumonThe days continued to pass, as the funeral rites were performed and more and more strangers arrived in Sierra.Haefest was divided into thirty distinct regions, at the head of each there was a noble family. Some were descendants of the first inner circle of the founding king of Sierra, others had received the office later, swearing their allegiance to the reigning king or proving their valor in battle.Of thirty lords, in addition to the six present at the council, only a dozen had appeared.The others had not shown up and had not sent a response to the summons of the new king, completely ignoring the orders given. If they had not supported Nathan's coronation, they might have been able to start a rebellion by proclaiming a fake king for them, declaring open war against the crown. And, with civil war looming in the north, such a rift in their kingdom was the last thing they needed.If word had come to the other four kingdoms, they would have been a target, defenseless to the poi
AthelstanAthelstan entered the throne room for the second time on that day, the sun was now setting and the little light that filtered, had made the room darker, while the last rays of the sun projected on the floor the long shadows of the vases scattered everywhere.The servants had closed all the large windows to prevent the bad smell from entering the building, the effort had been in vain, since inside the room a vague stench of rotten could be perceived. Athelstan had hoped that the smell would not reach the city, but unfortunately the light wind had carried the smoke and bad smell there, causing the anger of his father to erupt and he now found himself holed up in his rooms. Probably lost between the legs of some whore, while he had to deal with the messengers of Haefest.The throne room was empty when he entered, Athelstan was accompanied by two council members and a master. When he approached the bench he was dumbfounded for a moment, but he decided to climb the steps and sit
Athelstan Queen Reanna was standing, her back straight and her hands crossed in front of her. Her red hair was styled in a long braid that ran sideways down her shoulder. On her head she wore a simple crown, the thin silver circle had only a diadem in the center, just above the forehead. The purple eyes, like those of her son, were focused on the master, inquisitors, despite having a glacially quiet expression and a sweet tone of voice. "Mother," said Athelstan, solemnly. The other men at the same time pronounced Majesty by making a bow. The queen gave a sweet smile and approached them. "Master, how did you say?" She blinked a couple of times. A lion in cat disguise, Athelstan thought, trying to hold back a laugh. "I think it is safer that the prince will stay in Locrand," the old man said confidently. He was not afraid of Reanna's role or the soldiers who would cut off the heads of anyone who dared to speak in that tone to the queen. "I believe that the prince is free to decid
Aislin shook her head. "It's like talking to a wall, do you ever listen to what I tell you?" she asked, turning to him. "Of course, but there's a gulf from there to agreeing with all your decisions. You'd solve half your problems if you decided to exterminate Werod's followers from the first to the last," Doreon said honestly. Barclay arched his eyebrows, but nodded as did Blake and Lyza. Everyone felt the same way, but no one had ever dared to say it openly. Doreon didn't understand exactly what they feared. That she freaked out? That she had a temper tantrum? As if she hadn't had enough in those last few days. Aislin, stunned, looked first at her warriors, then at Doreon. "Shut up, Doreon," she repeated again, this time angrily. Silently they reached the ship they were going to use for the long journey. A rope ladder had been thrown from the bridge. As soon as their boat approached the ship, Doreon got up and rushed to help Aislin, who turned away and climbed the ladder alo
Doreon The priestess had just finished the rite and in the sea other girls were fished out by the men on the ships, ready to sail. Doreon found himself at Aislin Neyer's side, silently watching the ocean as the last rays of the sun shone on them, reflected on the crystalline surface. Behind them the warriors were silent, except Barclay who was noisily chewing a piece of dried meat, not caring in the least for the hateful noise he was making. Pix had already boarded his ship, on the orders of the commander. There was no need for all the men to be present at the ritual and then, according to the commander, that way they would arouse less suspicion that she did not want to see the men coming from Aeris. Aislin loved to play games and keeping her identity a secret for as long as possible was the game she enjoyed the most. She had sent some of the allies to the other port villages, where the other two commanders were waiting for them along with some of their men. Doreon hadn't met t
Both came out of the council chamber, while behind them she heard Kyros giving orders to go and call Queen Reanna. Sumon stood beside Nathan, as they proceeded down the corridor to the main gates from which the two rulers of the west and north would come. "What was that reaction from Athelstan?" she asked Nathan softly. "During the Summit five years ago, Taryn Fahan sneaked into Althea in secret... I think to be able to get the support of some king, but she ended up in the bed of Athelstan. Aislin told me that her brother had completely lost his mind for her, then I don't know what happened," Nathan explained, as they turned into another corridor. "Hadn't Elhias Ackard and Athelstan grown up together?" asked Taryn. Nathan shrugged. "And Elhias married the woman he is in love with?" Her husband shrugged his shoulders again. "A fiery encounter is on the horizon," Sumon reflected after a while. "And Kyros? Why that reaction?" "I have no idea, nothing good, Sumon... nothing good,"
Sumon The servants quickly placed food on the table and disappeared from the door, while Athelstan Neyer and Nathan continued to argue about the different abandoned ports of Haefest. They had been arguing for five days now and until then they had made great progress, thanks also to the fact that on the second day Kyros Neyer had arrived, something had changed and it had happened. First of all, at the head of the table, on the opposite side from Nathan, sat no longer Kyros Neyer, but his son. Athelstan seemed to have taken the reins of the situation and, since that morning, had done nothing but talk and talk, discussing peacefully with her husband, while Kyros had stood aside to listen. He had spoken a few times in the debate and had not made much of a contribution. The lords of Athelstan listened to him looking at him with devotion, nodding at whatever the prince said or proposed. Devotion that had not escaped Kyros who observed everything with a stern look. Sumon did not unders
Doreon looked at her for a moment before that name entered his mind. He froze, his breath seemed to die in his throat, while images of Nathan were going through in his head.His gaze when, under duress from Doreon himself and Damien, he had begun to tell what had happened between him and the princess of Locrand, the way in which his eyes had remained empty, after finding out about his departure. And also all the suffering of Sumon in not feeling enough, in not being able to fill the void left in Nathan.All the years he had spent watching his best friend, his brother, disintegrate before his eyes.A shiver of anger ran through him, but Doreon stopped him, so he immobilized and looked at the commander carefully."It's not possible," Doreon said in a whisper. "It's not possible. She's dead. She died five years ago." He shook his head."Do I look dead to you?" she said, bending her head to the side and pointing at herself.Doreon shook his head
DoreonDoreon sat on the ground, his back resting on the log in front of the fire, as he took the bag with wine and brought it to his lips."Damn witches!" exclaimed Barclay, sitting next to him and pulling the wine out of his hands, before bringing it to his lips.Doreon snorted annoyingly and watched as he threw himself on the ground noisily."And you'll have to put up with them all the way to Mihdel," Doreon pointed out.Barclay went through the water and began to cough, Doreon took the wine back to his lips taking a large sip."Stop complaining and provoking them, you will only increase their hatred and desire for revenge," Doreon said quietly, as she passed him the wine."Doreon is right," the commander declared behind him, before sitting down next to Doreon. "They're already uncontrollable, if you get bothered by them, I won't be able to keep them out of your throat." Doreon took the wine and pass
"Accompany him to his accommodation," he then ordered the servants, who immediately nodded.The man made a half-bow and then quietly exited the tent.As soon as he left, Elhias stood up and stepped down from the platform, running a hand through her black hair and ruffling it."What do you want to do?" asked Taryn, passing the letter to one of the lords of Elhias, before she too rose."We must go to Sierra immediately. If what I think is happening, we need to start preparing everybody.""Everybody?" asked Taryn, puzzled.Elhias nodded."And the men who will go north?" asked one of Taryn's lords."The plans will remain the same until we have certain information. The usurper will soon fall, however, and as soon as he does, we will recall the army," Elhias replied."What about marriage?" Taront asked, arching an eyebrow."We have a master in the camp, and we will celebrate him this very evening."
TarynThey had stood still for a day, waiting for the messenger from Locrand to be brought to them. Elhias had not the slightest intention of taking a step without first finding out what Locrand wanted from him.Taryn suspected that Elhias wanted to find an excuse to meet Athelstan. Surely he hoped that the message would be an invitation to Locrand, so that he could finally meet his old friend again. She knew what kind of bond united them, that they had grown up together and adored each other as brothers, and she was also aware that being forced to close ties with him had made him suffer greatly. Although Elhias never showed his emotions on the outside, Taryn could see beyond his façade. She had learned to understand it, she knew how his little head worked, and in their time together she had observed the relationship between the two princes a lot.They had always been a shadow of each other. They never separated and their thought
Nathan turned around, grabbed her by the hips and sat her down on the table, before joining their lips. Aislin immediately brought her hands into his hair and wrapped his waist with her legs, while returning the kiss passionately. Their tongues intertwined, their breaths mingled. Nathan pushed himself at her, trying to be as close as he could, as she moaned in his mouth. When they were out of breath they broke away. Nathan rested his forehead on hers and opened his eyes, meeting her sweet gaze. Aislin rubbed her nose against his and Nathan got goosebumps as his heart pounded. "I missed you," Aislin said gently, looking him in the eye and running her hands through his blonde hair. "You too," Nathan admitted, closing his eyes and breathing deeply, intoxicated with his scent. "Where did they move you?" he asked, stroking her behind her back. Aislin pulled her forehead off his forehead and Nathan opened his eyes. The princess bent