Throne of Night by Cat Bruno

Author:Cat Bruno [Bruno, Cat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Painted Quill Press
Published: 2020-05-19T22:00:00+00:00

10

“Which surprises you more? That she is gone or that she went alone?”

“Neither,” Jarek mouthed although he guessed that Aldric and Otieno already knew the answer.

“What of Liang and Liu? Have they been questioned thoroughly? And Askar, of course, since she will have spoken to him of the great cat.”

Shaking his head as he fitted the reins to his horse’s neck, Jarek stated, “None report seeing her leave camp. And Askar swears that Syrsha made no mention of the cat. I noticed the beast some time ago pacing about in his stables on the other side of camp. Her own mount remains, although the gelding that Flora had become fond of is gone.”

“That she took a horse suggests that she departed by her own choosing.”

Aldric seemed the least concerned of the group, and his words had been meant as reassurance. Instead, Jarek found himself further irritated.

“Let her be, then,” he snapped. “Flora and I can handle what beasts may come.”

“So you would order us to head further north along the river to see what might be lurking there?” Otieno asked.

“I am not king here,” Jarek told the men sharply until Aldric reminded him that Eirrannia had not been declared an independent state. “Fine, then think of it as an order if you must. Within an hour, I ride north.”

To that, Aldric commented, “There is some concern as to the curse that comes with a shadow injury. I would guess that Syrsha searches for that answer, since Gregorr had to clean her own wound to stop its spread. Unlike those with storm blood, any other can become paralyzed once the shadow taint takes hold. Worse, the closer the Dark God walks, the stronger the night spell will be.”

The information was not new, for they had figured as much and repeatedly warned their armies to avoid any and all strikes against them, even if it meant retreat, yet Jarek asked the mage if he had learned more of what might come from the taint.

“Gregorr would best know that answer. From what he explains, however, the curse deadens the areas it touches and spreads a paralysis. So it one is sliced across the arm, from fingertip to elbow, the skin will blacken and char, as if fire-burnt. Then, all feeling and movement will cease. If lucky, you might only lose the arm, although the curse spreads quickly and can cause breath and life pulse to both cease.”

“With war comes sacrifice,” Jarek grimaced. “For now, only the Covians equipped with bows and any other who has the skill should come with me. Save the others for when we need them most.”

The diauxie interjected, “The Eirrannian Army is nearly useless. Even those with mage-skill do not know how to use it with full power.”

“Then they stay back.”

Otieno would see it done, as his curt bow suggested. That he mocked Jarek was understood, but the Rexterran King did not allow the slight to anger him. Aldric’s slight smile irked him more, yet still Jarek did not allow the skies to rumble.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.