River of Crows by N.P Thompson

Author:N.P Thompson [Thompson, N.P]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inky Cove
Published: 2022-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Corwin

Corwin flew into the clearing and landed on the ground. The coded marker he’d left on the tree where the deer trail forked would let the Siershasai’dan know he needed to talk, and where to find him. One of them would show up sooner or later. In the meantime, he shimmered back into human form and settled himself into a comfortable cross-legged position.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Danika stepped silently out of the shadowed trees. She was good, he had to admit it. He hadn’t even heard her approach.

“You got my message,” he said, by way of greeting.

She didn’t even bother with the niceties. “Are you going to tell me why you sent those children into Siershasai’dan territory? You know how dangerous these woods can be. They could have been hurt.”

“In my defense,” Corwin replied mildly, “I sent them to Archimedes. He’s the one who sent them in here. And if they’d kept to the trail he put them on, they would have safely skirted the edge of your territory and avoided trouble.” He rose to his feet and stretched. “Although, I do get the distinct impression that those two are magnetically drawn to trouble,” he added dryly.

“Those two? There were five of them.”

“Five? Have they made friends already? Good for them.”

Danika crossed her arms impatiently. “Why are you here, Corwin? It’s too dangerous for you to be anywhere near us. If you’re seen by the Guard, it will endanger everyone.”

“Still angry with me, I see.” He squinted at the surrounding trees and sighed. “I’m not here on official business. I’m here because of the boy.”

“Which one? As I said, you dropped several boys on us,” said Danika. “And two girls, as I recall.”

“The Ordane. Ty.”

“You brought an Ordane child across? What were you thinking?” Corwin’s revelation cracked Danika’s icy composure. She actually sounded shocked.

“I did bring him across, yes. But he’s not really an Ordane, Danika.” Corwin took a deep breath, then slowly let it out again. “He’s Asha’s son.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. My sister didn’t have any children.”

“Your people sent her to Ordanna. While there, she fell in love with an Ordane. They married and had a child, and I believe that’s why she never returned to Arcania,” said Corwin.

“Asha would never betray the Siershasai’dan like that! And she would never leave me, not without saying goodbye. My sister died fifteen years ago on a desperate mission to stop the emperor you chose to serve from gaining even more power than he already has.”

“Asha is dead, yes. But she died twelve years ago, not fifteen. She died trying to protect her infant son—the boy, Ty—from Malachai.”

“You lie!” Danika spat the words out through clenched teeth. “How would Gideon’s second-most-infamous henchman have found her in Ordanna? How would he have even known she was there?”

“It’s no lie! Why do you think I led so many missions to that Goddess-forsaken place? Gideon thought I was personally coordinating the hunt for that blasted thing he wants, but I was looking for her! And I found her, about two years after she disappeared.

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