Sisera's Gift (Dragonblood Sagas Book 2)

by Robyn Wideman

  Jaime’s eyebrow raised and his brow furrowed. “Two men? A little light don’t you think?”

  “It would be very light, if we didn’t have a dragon that can sense any movement within a mile. Sisera assures me that even when she sleeps, she can tell when something moves beyond the wall. The two guards are just an extra precaution.”

  “That makes divvying up guard duty much easier. Now what about the valley?”

  Kai pointed to the north. “Any attacks from the north have to go past that ridge and into the middle of the valley before they come up. It’s the same on the south. Any attacking force has to come at straight at us. There is no flanking us or attack points from over the mountain.”

  “How did Mara ever fall with such a fortress?” asked Jaime.

  “The kingdom was getting so big that the king built a new castle down on the plateau. After his army was devastated at the Valley of Tears, he insisted on saving his new castle. The castle and it’s stubborn king didn’t last long.”

  “Water?”

  “A large lake to the west, two creeks in the valley, but we don’t use any of them. There is a waterfall inside the tower.”

  “Outposts?”

  “I’m not sure what we should do yet,” admitted Kai. “Until Lady Isabella talks to all the local villages, I don’t know what role they will play. I suspect we’ll be clearing out bandits for a while. There are still plenty around. We’ll start with scouting parties, let the men get to know the valley.”

  “And what about the dragon?” asked Jaime.

  “Sisera. She’s smart and from what I can, tell has a dry sense of humor. You will meet her. She didn’t want to be too much of a distraction today. She’s a fire dragon, and she has other magic I’m told, but I haven’t confirmed all her powers yet.”

  “A fire dragon! That certainly makes defending the tower easier. If anyone tries to use siege weapons such as trebuchets, she can burn them.”

  “Yes, having Sisera at our sides will make defending the tower much easier. But we must not be dependent on the dragon. There will be times when the defenses are our responsibility alone. So we must plan that way.”

  “I agree. The most immediate threat will be from Kosal. Prince Ramsey will want his bride at any cost. Their marriage would give him legitimate claim to the north in its entirety.”

  “Yes, and that is not taking Lady Isabella being Dragonblood into account. No doubt Prince Ramsey would claim the entire isle if they were married.”

  “I’ve noticed you’ve taken to calling her Lady Isabella instead of Princess Isabella. Why is that?” asked Jaime.

  “It was Lady Isabella’s decision. In Prozia, she is a princess. But in Mara, Isabella does not have a royal claim to ownership of these lands. We’re occupying them by power. Lady Isabella is going to let each village decide on their own if they want to swear fealty to her. Creating a level of trust between us and those we’ll be living around is paramount to Lady Isabella, and to us. No one alive was around when dragons were defeated. So there will be much fear and concern. Our jobs will be to earn their trust.” It was a decision Kai fully supported.

  “Not an easy task.”

  Kai smiled at his friend, “No one said being Daxrah was easy.”

  32

  QUEEN AMELIA SAT STARING AT THE MIRROR. She was in her quarters preparing for the arrival of Prince Ramsey. Her husband, King Robert Byrne, had insisted she accompany him in greeting Prince Ramsey and his knights at the gates. Robert was worried that Prince Ramsey would think he had something to do with Isabella’s escape. Damned fool, thought Queen Amelia. First he tries to give away the kingdom to that arrogant ass, Prince Ramsey, and his equally distasteful father, King Ramsey. Now he insists on groveling to the man. Marrying Robert Byrne had been a big mistake. She should’ve found a lesser noble that would have known his place. Robert Byrne had hidden his true nature well during their courtship. She’d known marrying the man was a calculated risk, but at the time he had seemed by far the best option. Now he was proving to be the worst.

  Prince Ramsey, with her damned husband’s permission, was arriving with a full squadron of his knights. A search party intent on finding Isabella. King Robert intended to greet the knights with ceremony and then supply them for their search. King Robert Byrne was stubbornly sticking to his opinion that the only way to peace with the kingdom of Kosal was through marriage. Queen Amelia was sure one of his advisors was working for Prince Ramsey, but she could not yet prove it. With luck, Isabella and Raven were almost to the southern coast and preparing to board a ship for Droll, making the search pointless, but she couldn’t say anything of the sort. With a frustrated sigh, Queen Amelia rose and headed towards the throne room where her jackass husband awaited. It was time to greet the prince and his knights.

  …

  Queen Amelia walked out into the courtyard beside her husband, King Robert. Whatever her private feeling for the man, Queen Amelia made sure to appear to support her husband when in public. The kingdom was already too fractured from old clan rivalries and the constant threat of war from Kosal. To publicly question him could lead to a civil war, which would assuredly end in an attack from Kosal. As long as Isabella was in safe haven, she’d have time to figure out who was bending her husband’s ear towards such foolish ideas.

  Prince Ramsey was already in the courtyard with his knights. The men were all sitting on their horses in columns three deep. How many knights did he bring into the castle? Half of Prozia’s soldiers were out searching the land for Isabella. The idea of Prince Ramsey having a force of men equal to the number of defenders available made Amelia nervous. Amelia looked around the courtyard. It was unusually full of watchers. Normally, a few would come and watch the ceremonies, but most stayed at their work. They had more important things to do than watch a king kissing another royal’s arse. Amelia bit her lip as she gazed at the crowd. Not only was the courtyard unusually full, but it was full of men, men she didn’t recognize. Something was amiss. “Robert, something is wrong here. We should go back into the castle, right now!” said Amelia in a low but urgent tone.

  King Robert smiled to the crowd as he kept walking, he spoke to Amelia without looking at her. “Are you trying to embarrass me further? Damn you, woman! Just stand there and smile while I talk to the prince.”

  Queen Amelia had no such intentions. Her gut instinct told her to run, so she did. She pivoted and sprinted back towards the castle doors. The castle wasn’t as heavily fortified as the outer walls, but if she could make it to the doors, she could find guards and make a stand. Behind her, she could hear Robert cursing her. “Damned stupid woman! What is your problem?”

  Queen Amelia was almost to the doors when a stinging sensation struck her arm. She ignored the pain and bolted behind the castle doors. “Close the doors, and sound the alarm!” she told the two surprised guards standing watch at the castle doors.

  Amelia turned and looked out into the courtyard as the men quickly closed the gates. Men in the crowd were firing crossbows into other members of the crowd while Prince Ramsey’s knights were attacking the guards in the courtyard. Her husband, Robert, had an arrow through his chest and Prince Eric was standing above him with his sword raised high. The doors closed just as Prince Eric’s sword struck Robert.

  Amelia shook her head. What a fool! And now he had forfeited his life for his foolishness. Something that did not bother Amelia. What did bother her was all the innocent lives that were being lost now because of him. She turned to the guards. “Barricade the doors. How many soldiers are in the castle right now?”

  “Maybe twenty. King Robert sent out supplies to Prince Eric’s camp. He sent them with the castle guards.”

  “By the seven hells,” swore Amelia. “Arm the men with bows and head to the third floor,” she said to the first guard. Then she spoke to the second guard, “Gather all the staff and guests in the castle. Have them move all the heavy furniture to the doors. Make an even bigger barricade.”

  Amel
ia ran to the second floor and peeked out a window. Her guards and the crowd loyal to them were putting up a strong resistance, but many had already perished under the surprise attack. From her position she could hear the two guards barking orders. People were scrambling inside the castle. She could see arrows were now being fired from the third floor. Amelia continued up to the third floor. A dozen men were now standing at the narrow third floor windows that doubled as archery holes. The angled stonework allowed the archers plenty of room to move but only a narrow target for enemies to hit. “Give cover to any of our men you see. Anyone in the courtyard with a crossbow is now with us,” instructed Amelia.

  Amelia watched as the archers fired at the knights and bowmen of Prince Eric. The elevation and narrow windows gave them a distinct advantage and quickly the number of knights and warriors was diminishing.

  “They’re retreating out of the courtyard,” cried out one of the archers at the windows.

  Amelia went to a window and looked out. The courtyard was full of fallen bodies, including that of her husband Robert. In the distance, she could see Prince Eric and his men riding past the outer gates. Citizens of Prozia were fighting off the attackers and pushing them out, but were suffering heavy losses at the hands of the well-armed knights. The sneak attack had devastated the forces of Prozia while costing Prince Eric very few men.

  “Queen Amelia,” said one of the guards.

  “Yes,” said Amelia as she watched the evil Prince Eric ride back to his camp.

  “Your wound. We must tend to your wound.”

  Amelia looked over her shoulder. An arrow was lodged in the back of her arm. Two inches to the side and it would’ve pierced her heart. “I’ll go to the infirmary in a minute. First, I want you to gather every soldier and man capable of bearing arms in the courtyard. Make sure the outer gates are closed. This might not have been only an assassination. They may try another attack.”

  “I’m surprised they didn’t push the first attack farther. They were inside the courtyard. If they’d brought a second force right away, we’d be done,” said the castle guard.

  Queen Amelia shook her head. “No, if they’d come in with a larger number even that fool Robert would have suspected something was amiss. They were here to kill Robert and myself. Only my own paranoia and a bit of luck has me alive now.”

  “It’s not paranoia when you’re right, my queen. I’d say good instincts.”

  “Whatever it was, now the job is to stay alive. We lost a lot of men today and a large chunk of our men are scattered over the kingdom. We’ll be hard pressed to keep the castle if they choose a prolonged siege.”

  “What can we do?”

  “Send pigeons to every estate and village in the kingdom. Tell them we are under siege and require assistance. Tell them to send riders looking for our soldiers and rally them together to the east of the castle. We should be able to scare them back to Kosal if we can surround them.”

  “Yes, My Queen,” said the guard as he hurried off to send the carrier pigeons with their messages.

  Queen Amelia’s arm was starting to hurt. The adrenaline was wearing off and pain was setting it. It was time to head to the infirmary and find the healer. The infirmary was going to be a busy place this day.

  …

  “Damn the gods,” swore Eric Ramsey as he stormed into the command tent. He slammed a cup off the large desk that was the focal point of the room.

  “Why so angry?” asked Logan Hart. “The attack worked. King Robert Byrne died and our losses were insignificant in comparison to theirs.”

  “Because she is alive. Those fool archers missed her!”

  “I wouldn’t blame the archers. If she hadn’t turned and run towards the castle, she’d be dead now too. I wonder what tipped her off?” said Daniel, Logan’s brother and the second of Eric’s lieutenants.

  “It doesn’t matter. The old wench figured it out. She also managed to organize her archers quick enough to prevent us from taking the courtyard and then the castle. The problem is she’s smart. Smarter than a woman has a right to be. She organized those archers, sure as I’m standing here, and given a day to get their defenses in order will have that place well-fortified.” Eric sat down at the desk. The attack had been almost perfect. Instead the cow queen was still alive and he was no closer to controlling Prozia than he was before the attack. Eric wanted to blame his father for the poor plan, but the truth was Queen Amelia, that damned cow, had ruined things with her running inside and organizing the archers. If she’d died, he’d be standing in the castle right now, declaring himself rightful ruler of all Seron. “So close,” said Eric as he slammed his hand down on the table in frustration.

  “Should we organize for an assault on the front gates for dawn?” asked Logan.

  “No,” said Eric. “I’ll not waste men on a frontal attack, not yet anyways. We’ll let them stew for a night or two. They’re short-handed and will need to use normal citizens to help man the walls at night. We’ll harass them, feign an attack here and there. Keep them awake and scared. Father will arrive in three days’ time with more troops and siege weapons. That is when we’ll attack.”

  “Your father will be pleased with the results of the attack. He placed a higher value on killing King Robert than you do,” said Daniel Hart.

  “My father is an old fool. He doesn’t realize what a conniving witch Queen Amelia is. He thinks a woman isn’t smart enough to put up much resistance. His insistence on focusing the attack on King Robert could cost us Prozia.”

  “You surely don’t think Prozia can withstand our attacks once the siege weapons arrive, do you? Queen Amelia may be smart, but what can she do? Half of her army is scattered across the country looking for your bride,” said Logan Hart.

  “You are almost as foolish as my father,” said Eric with a scowl. “You just said it yourself. Half of her army is outside of the castle. If she gets word to them, she’ll have an attack force that can blindside us. She also has plenty of allies among the villages and clans of Prozia. If we are not careful, it could be us who is surrounded. Do not underestimate Queen Amelia because she has tits and a pretty smile. The woman is shrewd. How else would her daughter disappear into the night while King Robert is on a hunting trip if not for the careful planning of his conniving wife. No, mark my word, do not take Queen Amelia lightly. Our winning the battle for Prozia is no longer assured now that she’s survived.” Prince Eric rubbed his eyes. At every turn Queen Amelia was thwarting his plans. First, she’d managed to sneak Isabella away and now she’d survived the attack. No matter what his father thought, next time he had the opportunity, he’d kill the whore himself.

  33

  IN THE THREE DAYS AFTER THE ARRIVAL of the brigade, Kai, Jaime, and Camdyn had organized the barracks, gone over the maps of the valley, planning scouting trips and hunting parties along with work details and guard rotations. Kai’s eyes were starting to hurt from all the administrative duties that came with leadership. His respect for Camdyn and the way he’d managed to deal with all those nagging details over the years grew with each trivial matter that combined into one big mess. Kai leaned heavily on Camdyn’s advice the first few days and the results were showing. The tower was starting to look like a respectable home for a Dragonblood princess.

  “I’ve had enough paperwork for a lifetime,” declared Kai as he finished writing an up-to-date inventory of their supplies.

  “You wimp,” scoffed Camdyn from across the table. “You think this is paperwork? I had to deal with King Ramsey’s tax collectors. Those crooks would’ve taken every dime if it wasn’t accounted for. They seemed to think serving King Ramsey was reward onto itself and paying his warriors was a waste of valuable resources. Of course his taxes made the pittance of wages he paid amount to a handful of spit.”

  “Taxes, bleh! I’m glad Lady Isabella has insisted that we won’t be implementing any taxes here. Taxes are the quickest way to get a commoner to hate you,” said Kai.

  “Ha, you have that
right. But taxes are a necessary part of any kingdom. Even independent cities like Bridgeport have a council and taxes. It is good that Lady Isabella isn’t greedy or overly ambitious, but if she’s to make Mara her home, eventually taxes will be necessary.”

  “Perhaps,” admitted Kai with a shrug. “I just hope I’m not responsible for those decisions. Being responsible for you Daxrah riffraff is more than enough duty for me.”

  “If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black. Why don’t you go do something you’re good at? like scouting. I’ll handle the paperwork, there isn’t much left and my old eyes are still good enough to do this work.”

  Kai grinned. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse. “It is high time we started visiting the villages to the west. I’ll see if Raven is as bored as I am.”

  “Take Jaime as well. You two need to get reacquainted. Jaime is still a wild soul, but don’t let him fool you. When you were banished, Jaime took over your responsibilities and did a very admirable job. I still have to scold him now and again for his off-duty antics, but he’s grown into a fine leader. You’ll want to lean on him during tough times. He has a knack for speaking to the men that neither you nor I will ever have.”

  It pleased Kai to hear Camdyn speak of Jaime like that. Camdyn was not one to pour honey on his words. He could be diplomatic when necessary but always told the harsh truth. That Camdyn considered Jaime a fine leader was as high a compliment as could be given in Kai’s books. It was also somewhat surprising. In their younger days, Jaime had been a trouble starter and often getting reprimanded for his behavior. It seemed Jaime had matured much since the old days. “That is an excellent idea, Camdyn. I’ll take Jaime with us, his silver tongue could be useful.”

  Kai left Camdyn and headed out to find Raven and Jaime. It didn’t take long to find them. One look out the tower windows and he could see them in the courtyard. A large group of men were training together, but it looked like the training had ground to a halt as the men all watched two warriors sparring, the warriors were Raven and Jaime. This will be interesting, thought Kai as he watched from the window. Raven was the bigger and stronger of the two, but Jaime was the quicker. Jaime was circling around Raven darting in and out with quick thrusts of his sword, looking for weaknesses in Raven’s defenses. However, Raven seemed content to let Jaime set the pace, she was easily blocking his attack with her war axe, but she was not counterattacking. She’s waiting for a mistake, realized Kai as he watched the two warriors spar. Unlike their battle with the bandits, Kai now had the ability to full pay attention to Raven’s fighting style. War axes were uncommon on the Isle of Seron, but so were warriors from Northern Solotine. It was rumored that the great warriors from the far away land were descendants of giants. Raven made that rumor seem very believable.