The Moth Saga: Books 4-6 by Daniel Arenson

Author:Daniel Arenson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: NLA Digital LLC
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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A hundred thousand strong, the Radian army rolled out of the dusk and into the darkness of Eloria.

Siege towers of wood and iron moving on great wheels. Scythed chariots full of archers. Mages, hooded and shadowed. Knights on armored stallions. An endless sea of archers and swordsmen bearing torches and roaring for the death of darkness. Catapults swung, their boulders hurtling. Cannons fired, blasting out smoke. Ballistae shot their iron arrows. The projectiles lit the night sky and slammed into Salai Castle upon the hill.

Koyee stood in the village of Oshy, her armor splashed with blood.

The village was empty around her—a ghost town of clay huts, barren squares, and guttering lanterns. She had ordered the people of Oshy evacuated last turn; they now sailed toward Pahmey in the east, seeking sanctuary from the sunlit onslaught. Her sunlit home, a cottage in Fairwool-by-Night, had burned. Koyee now stood by her nightside house, a humble clay hut, and watched the castle upon the hill crumble.

Its roof tiles rained down. Its walls cracked and collapsed. The bronze dragon upon its crest crashed onto the hillside. The cannons and catapults kept firing. As every projectile hit the castle, the hosts of Timandra cheered.

"Koyee!" rose a voice behind her. "Koyee, we must flee. Now."

She stared at the castle, eyes damp.

"For so many years, I built this place," she whispered. "For my father. Now it falls like a house of cards."

A hand grabbed her arm. "Koyee, we must leave now."

She turned around to see Xenxua, a young soldier with large indigo eyes. He was barely older than Madori. He panted. Scales were missing from his armor, and blood leaked through the holes.

"The last boats are loading." He tugged her. "We have only moments. Quick, Koyee."

She stared at him. Such a young, frightened face. She could barely hear the battle behind her anymore. Her ears still rang from the cannon fire, and everything felt so numb. Perhaps this was but a dream. Just a nightmare.

"Koyee!"

She turned back toward the castle and the dusk beyond. She could barely see anything but the Timandrian army now. The enemies covered every last stretch of land, and they were climbing what remained of the castle walls like insects upon a dying animal. Thousands of the troops, bearing torches, came marching toward the abandoned village. Their faces burned red in the firelight, and their eyes stared at her, hungry for her blood.

How can I flee? How can I abandon my post?

She clutched the locket that hung around her neck. She tightened her lips.

For Madori. I am a mother now. I must live.

"Koyee, please!" Xenxua begged, trying to tug her back.

She nodded. "We flee."

They turned and ran. Arrows sailed over their heads, and one glanced off Koyee's helmet. They raced between the huts as the enemy roared and laughed behind them. At the docks, the last few junk boats were sailing away along the Inaro. In the east, she could just make out the junks' forms; they had extinguished their lanterns.

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