Of Fire and Ash by Gillian Bronte Adams

Author:Gillian Bronte Adams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Christian, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9781621842040
Publisher: Enclave Publishing
Published: 2021-07-09T00:00:00+00:00

Stars dimmed as daybreak hovered beyond the horizon, when Ceridwen found Markham lounging beside a dying fire, smoking his new pipe. He propped one boot on the other, giving her space to sit, and the straight knob of his spurs—shadowriders avoided roweled spurs that clinked and jingled—glinted in the embers’ glow.

“Not bad.” He saluted her with his flask. “You are a war-chief in truth now, and nothing the others do can negate that. It is a stride toward our goal. A good stride.”

“But only a stride. We still need them.”

“Aye.” Pursing his lips, Markham gazed up at the fading stars. “Glyndwr is the sort of man who thinks twice before donning his boots. I hoped your claim would spark action, but the stubborn fools wait to see what the others will do. Meanwhile, we delay the Nadaari for a fight we cannot win on our own.”

It was one of the basic tenets of war: delaying tactics only served if decisive action followed. But for action, Ceridwen needed more. More warriors. More steeds. More war-chiefs behind her. She needed the Nadaari cut off from reinforcements and starving in their own camp. She needed Cenyon with its command of the coast and the inland paths.

If Astra’s gamble paid off, she would get all that and more. But it was not in her blood to sit idly waiting. It was in her blood to risk.

Life, limb, and yes, pride.

Ceridwen stole his flask and took a swig. “Tomorrow, I ride west.”

Briefly, she explained the discovery of the Canthorian manuscripts, the implications she feared, and Astra tor Telweg’s suggestion. Markham took it all in, and she wondered how much aligned with the threads of information always swirling in his mind.

But all he said was, “So that’s why tor Telweg was among us.”

“You knew?”

“Of course, I knew. Scouts spied her miles away, chose to monitor her steps. She wasn’t more than one misstep from death if she’d proved false.” He snorted. “Gaps in my patrols indeed. You are right to go though. Unlike her daughter, Telweg favors straightforwardness, and the coast is vital to our defense.” He scratched his weathered forehead with his thumbnail. “Reports show Nadaari reinforcements spilling from Tel Renaair through Idolas, trying to turn one of the abandoned camps beyond into a fortified outpost. Could be an attempt to secure their supply line. Meaning . . .” He eyed her, waiting for her interpretation.

“Our efforts to contain them are working. They begin to feel the strain?”

“Dead center, tal Desmond. And?”

“We should destroy that outpost. You will see to it?” She fiddled with the flask. It felt strange to issue a command—even in question form—to her Apex. But this was the role she had accepted when she stated her claim.

Markham bent his head. “I will, my queen.”

His words hummed in her ears long after the sun broke and night fled.

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