In the Company of the Dead by Ciara Ballintyne

Author:Ciara Ballintyne [Ballintyne, Ciara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC
Published: 2016-04-21T23:00:00+00:00

As soon as Ellaeva cracked her eyes open to the familiar sight of her rooms, Everard’s words came back to her.

A boon. What did he want?

When he’d realised the extent of her injuries and exhaustion, Lyram’s aide-de-camp had refused to say more and helped her to bed instead. Except for a few words to warn him of spectres in the catacombs, the spirits of the dead hopelessly enslaved to the necromancer’s will, the conversation was brief and she’d been asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

She closed her eyes and pulled the blankets over her head. If only she could stay here a little longer. Lying here, on her side, her back almost didn’t hurt.

Curious that Everard hadn’t offered to send for Leinahre. She’d have refused the woman’s help, but he didn’t know that.

Sighing, she threw off the bedclothes and eased herself to her feet. What was the time? Light streamed through the small west-facing arrowslit, bright enough for late afternoon.

A night’s rest and more left her refreshed, and though the wound in her back pulled as she rose and dressed, it no longer stabbed the same fiery agony into her flesh with each twinge and tug. Ahura’s chosen healed fast, although rushing into another battle anytime soon would be unwise.

With one hand on the door, she paused. Should she look for Everard or Lyram? She shrugged. If the aide’s request could wait while she rested, he could bide a little longer. On the other hand, she hadn’t seen Lyram since the attack on the enemy camp, and she needed an update on the siege. And then of course there was Kastyn.... She really should try and find out what he was up to.

Her feet tap-tapped on the stairs as she descended with quick, light steps and emerged into the courtyard. The bright sunlight made her squint. In the moment it took her to adjust to the light, a boulder crashed into a wall, and she jumped. The sound of the impact deafened her. Soldiers moved around the courtyard and milled on the walls. Though the castle wasn’t under attack, agitation thrummed through the guard.

“Your holiness!” Galdron appeared from nowhere and seized her arm in a shockingly hard grip. Almost immediately, he released her, and a red flush crept up his face. “Apologies, holiness.”

She waved the indiscretion away. “What is the matter, captain?”

“I’m not made for this.” A plaintive note crept into his voice for an instant before he stiffened into parade rest and firmed his voice. “I mean, I’ve held the walls as best I can, but I’m no tactician. I’ve had no new orders for forty-eight hours, and the commander cannot be contacted.”

“Why not? Where is he?” Did he slip away into the enemy camp again to foolishly surrender himself? Surely he’d given up that notion. A hard knot of pressure grew in her chest.

“In his rooms, but— Didn’t Everard tell you?”

A gasp of relief escaped her lips. “Tell me what?”

Galdron’s blank military expression slipped a fraction, then he resumed his stern mask.

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