Hearthender: Warhound Series Book One by Catrina Prager

Author:Catrina Prager [Prager, Catrina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, fantasy series, epic fantasy, high fantasy, Medieval, war fantasy, magic
Publisher: Catrina Prager
Published: 2023-09-03T16:00:00+00:00

19. Fyrsten

FYRSTEN WASN’T IN THE habit of ignoring his wife’s advice. Mei had a brilliance to her that shone clean, like a precious stone. There were many at court who thought her the smarter of the pair, including the prince himself, but Fyrsten had never thought of it like that. He’d be the first to recognize his wife’s intelligence, but also the first to point out hers was a different wit from his.

She was cautious where he was brash, and she strategized where he used brute force. But it was calculated brute force, always, and this time, she’d fallen into a trap.

In the darkness of his tent, Fyrsten re-read her note for the hundredth time.

Mei’s presumption was most likely right, and now, it seemed impossible neither of them had guessed the meat of the ploy before. Of course it was all a ruse to lure the prince out, and capture him. Cut the snake’s head, and the body writhes without sense or true threat. Except Fyrsten would not be a mere snake’s body, nor would Mei.

His wife had never acknowledged her standing. Oh, she knew herself to be a king’s daughter, and recognized her skills in the areas that mattered. She was well-read, and educated in the ways of their kingdom. She was beautiful, and talented, and a more skilled warrior by far than any of the men Fyrsten had fought with.

Yet that was only the surface of his beloved. It was what the rest of Amagiraea saw, and for good reason. It was that faucet of Mei that the army and common people alike had come to revere, and pledge their loyalty to. Had their bond not been so strong, it would’ve been a cause of serious concern for Adelras, for if Mei was to take up arms against him, and challenge his role as heir, it was hard to say who’d win.

But in this, she’d been wrong. She’d insisted Fyrsten and the army come home at once, no doubt with the intent of sending them toward the Mongolath border.

Though what you hope we’ll achieve there is beyond my power to divine, sweet one. The Veshini will strike. If what you say is true, then now more than ever must we defend the coast. Ride out inland, and they will crush us between them.

He kept Mei’s orders quiet, for the most part, knowing full well that many of the troops preferred her to her husband. They’d stay on the coastline, and await the Veshini attack, even if it angered Mei and the entire Amagiraea.

Outside his tent, he heard the training stretch long into the night. A side of him waited impatient for the Veshini attack. He longed to put his arduous training to the test. Each night, he conveyed the training masters, and took in their reports. Training was going swifter than many had hoped. Not all of them were natural warriors, but very few had proven completely hopeless. And with this clever, last moment addition to their ranks, the Amagiraean army had been rendered halfway presentable.

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