Guardian Queen: Epic Fantasy Romance (Hardstorm Saga Book 3) by Dana Marton

Author:Dana Marton [Marton, Dana]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Dana Marton
Published: 2019-01-22T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

(Back at Tahar’s Hall)

The last rays of the setting sun painted the horizon red, as if on their way to a feast, the god Rorin’s concubines in their blue-purple cloud gowns had walked through a river of blood.

Crimson stained my own gown as well, and not merely the hem. The tide of the battle for Kaharta Reh had finally turned, and the harder our men fought, the more injuries I had to heal.

Our soldiers advanced through the city, while I advanced from the beach to the paved part of the harbor, for the sand always managed to find its way into the wounds. I stayed there instead of following our troops farther, past the charred stone wall and the giant broken city gate, where they fought from street to street. As we had done in Sheharree, a handful of the prince’s men brought the injured to me. They even set up a small fire with a cauldron of water, which helped a great deal.

I glanced up to see how many more men were waiting for my healing when I saw a group of our soldiers shove a Kerghi in front of them, coming from the city toward the harbor.

“Who is that, do you think?” I asked Boscor, who had not left my side but spent the day assisting me with herbs, hot water, needles, and string.

The injured man under my hands responded, “My lady, he is the Kerghi commander.”

“Where are they taking him?”

The young man shrugged and turned his gaze from mine.

“You should not watch, my lady,” Urdy said gently, at last returning. He had gone off in search of clean cloth for bandages, and now he spilled an armful at my feet, on top of my cloak that I had set on the ground to keep my healing supplies clean.

I had been kneeling next to my patient to pry the arrow from his thigh, but at Urdy’s words, I stood to see the Kerghi commander better. My back needed stretching anyway. I had been kneeling and bending over injuries for most of the day.

I rolled my shoulders and watched as our soldiers marched the enemy commander to the harbor’s flag post that the fire had left unharmed—the wood was encased in studded copperleaf. Even the golden flag of the emperor waved untouched at the top. Since the flagpole stood on a mound and the pole itself was taller than our ship’s mainmast, taller even than the stone walls, that flag could be seen from most of the city. I had seen Lord Tahar’s flag fly up there aplenty during my days of slavery.

I squinted to better see the men at the flagpole. “Why are they bringing a Kerghi instead of Lord Tahar’s flag?”

Neither Boscor nor Urdy nor my patient responded.

So it took me by surprise when our soldiers made quick work of the Kerghi commander. They ran him up the flagpole and hung him by the neck. As he kicked, then went still, I held my breath.

This is war.

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