The Broken Throne by Christopher Nuttall

Author:Christopher Nuttall [Nuttall, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

“THOSE ARE MY LANDS,” HANSEL SAID, the following morning. “And they’re going up in smoke.”

Emily said nothing as she peered into the distance. Smoke was rising all around the city, each plume of smoke representing a farm or a village or a town that had been thrown into the fire. Lord Burrows was systematically laying waste to the countryside, destroying all signs of human life. It was pointless barbarity, carried out against men and women who had no real power, but the king had presumably insisted. The rebels needed to be taught a lesson.

And it will clear the area so it can be resettled on their terms, Emily thought. They’ll bring in loyalists and make sure they have the population under firm control.

“He’s killing everyone who isn’t running into the city,” Cat commented. “And we have to take them in.”

“We should leave them outside,” Tobias snapped. “They’re a drain on our resources.”

“And they will die,” Emily said. “If they come here, they have a chance of survival. And if we don’t take them in, we’re as bad as the king.”

Her heart sank as she watched Lord Burrows’ army move steadily into place. It seemed to be bigger somehow, despite the chaos she’d wrecked. They had no cannon, as far as she could tell, but they had a sizable number of catapults and giant siege frameworks. The latter looked like mobile climbing frames for children, yet there was nothing funny about them. A determined aggressor could wheel them up to the walls and allow his troops to climb up and jump into the city in relative safety.

“The princess needs to come to our aid,” Hansel said. He glared at Emily. “Is she on her way?”

“She says she’s on her way,” Emily confirmed. Alassa hadn’t said much, beyond the bare minimum, but she wouldn’t have lied. “We just have to hold out until she arrives.”

“If she doesn’t get here in a week, we’ll have to surrender,” Hansel said. “Our food won’t hold out much longer.”

Emily felt a hot flash of anger. “Lord Burrows will kill everyone in the city,” she snapped, not bothering to conceal her irritation. “He’ll kill you too.”

Hansel gave her an angry look, then a shrug of dismissal she was probably meant to find insulting. She would have been more annoyed if he hadn’t looked like a petulant little boy defying his mother. Emily watched his back for a moment, fighting the temptation to burn him to ashes, then turned to watch as the army moved into place. They were coolly professional, although there were clearly some inexperienced men amongst them. She doubted it would be long before the attack began.

Randor must be breathing down Lord Burrows’ neck, demanding action, Emily thought, wryly. A smart professional would wait for starvation to take its toll.

“They should be sending a messenger,” Hansel said. “Where is he?”

“Perhaps they’re not sending a messenger,” Cat said, an hour later. No messenger had materialized. The siege was firmly in place. Lord Burrows should, technically, have sent someone to set a deadline for surrender, if the city was not relieved.

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