Wayfinder by C. E. Murphy

Author:C. E. Murphy [Murphy, C. E.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780345529268
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2011-09-06T05:00:00+00:00

Soldiers of old, Lara had read, learned to sleep anywhere they could, even in the saddle. No one would mistake her for a soldier, but between Aerin’s enchantment to keep her on horseback and the long hours since her last rest, she found herself in camaraderie with those old warriors. Her head bounced against Dafydd’s shoulder, disturbing her occasionally, but not nearly enough to fully waken her until Dafydd murmured, “We’re here.”

Her head snapped up, physical reaction quicker than her mind. “Where’s here? Oh.” The granite-ensconced Unseelie citadel spread out before them. Never bustling, it seemed emptier than ever now, their horses’ hooves cracking loud against the stone floors and the echoes rising unhindered toward the distant ceiling. Lara massaged the back of her neck and let her forehead drop against Dafydd’s shoulder again. “That was fast.”

“Hopefully fast enough. It was almost dawn when we entered the passageway. I’d have thought Emyr would be here by now.”

“He’ll be on the crevasse banks,” Lara said absently. “The Unseelie army will have followed him from the plains they were fighting on, to keep the fight outside the city. Taking the city is like fighting at Thermopylae. As long as they can keep the bulk of the army occupied, the city entrance can be guarded by a handful of people.” She blinked up before she was finished, astonished at herself, and Dafydd turned to give her a look of surprised admiration.

“A few days in the Barrow-lands and you’re a master tactician.”

Lara shook her head. “It’s just that I’ve ridden into the city twice now. Unless there’s a back way in, and a way past that crevasse, Emyr’s going to be stuck fighting out there. He should have gone to pitched battle on the fields,” she added thoughtfully. “Here he’s got nowhere to run. They’ll be backed up against the canyon. The Unseelie just have to push them over.”

Ioan came closer. “You mean it’s possible his army could be utterly routed. That the Seelie could be all but destroyed, if they’ve brought the fight this close to the citadel.”

“We have to stop them.” Lara clicked at the horse, trying to urge it forward even from her backseat position, but Aerin, a few yards ahead of them, raised a hand for patience.

“Whether it’s here or further out, we go to face battle, Truthseeker, and not one of us is armed for it. Outfitting ourselves now may lose a few minutes, but better that than to die for lack of arms. Ioan, can you take us to the armory?”

The Unseelie king—prince, Lara corrected herself; Hafgan, no doubt, still thought of himself as king—looked discomfited. “It’s not a place I often go.”

Aerin’s lip curled in derision. “Then I’ll find it myself.” She wheeled her horse around, even its footsteps managing to sound contemptuous.

“Wait. I should be able to find it.” Lara lifted her voice and Aerin’s shoulders tensed, though she didn’t urge her horse into a run. Lara crushed her eyes closed, bringing to mind the finely worked black-bladed swords carried by Unseelie warriors.

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