A King's Caution (The Eternal War Book 2)

by Brennan C. Adams

  Her hands gently squeezed his, and he brushed them with his lips.

  “You’re correct as usual, my love,” Eledis murmured. “I promise to strive for improvement if you’ll stay by my side until I find the man you married once more.”

  “A promise I can easily make,” Illasaya replied, grinning at him.

  A dense knot he’d carried since their exile loosened, and for the first time in centuries, Eledis breathed easy. “Let’s flee this palace of memories, my love. The world awaits us.”

  Opening the dining room door, Eledis nearly collided with Oswin.

  “Sir,” the spymaster said, “your presence is required in the Ministers’ Chamber. We may have a problem.”

  * * *

  “All right, you lot. What’s so important you couldn’t discern a solution on your own?” Eledis roared as he stormed into the Chamber.

  So close to happiness with Illasaya, only to have it snatched away at the last second. It was enough to make even the most congenial of men irritable, and congenial Eledis was not.

  This had better be good.

  The Ministers’ Chamber was decidedly emptier than when he’d been king. Five people: Kylorian, Oswin, Marcuset, and the two Udulians whose names Eledis had never bothered to remember-Umvarith? Xyro?-versus the hundreds who had crowded the room centuries before.

  They huddled before the windows which overlooked the city, unspoken anxiety tautening the empty air. He strode to join them, and as if breaking from a haunted reverie, Marcuset faced him, hand raised.

  “Eledis…” he warned.

  The petrified look on his friend’s face quickened his step rather than slowing it as Marcuset had probably intended, and he soon drew even with the other Ministers. For a moment, he couldn’t understand what had them so concerned. Uduli displayed the perfect picture of a peaceful evening, citizens going about their business in their usual, unhurried pace. He inspected the bountiful fields which lay outside the city wall, and his heart skittered to a stop.

  A moving carpet of flesh and armor blanketed what had once been flourishing crops, fading sunlight glinting off, steel. An army, one they’d never called for, and-

  Eledis clutched at his chest, leaning against the window frame as his heart attempted to break from its flesh and bone cage.

  An enemy neared Uduli, and no one waited atop the wall to greet it.

  “How did this happen?” Eledis hissed. “How did Doldimar,” because who else could it be “sneak up on us like this, and where are our soldiers?”

  “The city guard’s been needed more than ever to quell tensions between the races,” Kylorian tried to explain, his voice steel wool against Eledis’ ears. “I had to pull defenders from the wall to keep the peace.”

  “All of them?” Eledis growled, rounding on the younger man, the one who looked so like Nebailie.

  Kylorian cowered beneath his wrath, and a cold wash dampened the heat of his desperate anger. It was the exact reaction Nebailie had displayed when their father… He sighed.

  “Go rally the troops, Ky,” Eledis commanded. “Fast as you can, and we might have a chance. Orders are to defend the wall the best they can, focusing on the gates. When they’re eventually overwhelmed, they’re to fall back to the palace.”

  Curtly nodding, Kylorian made to leave before Eledis pulled him up short with a final instruction.

  “Take Marcuset with you. He can help.”

  “What?!” they both exclaimed before diverging. “My place is with you!” and “I don’t need help!”

  Alouin, humanity and its insistence on allowing emotion to rule it.

  “Kylorian, you face Doldimar. I assume four years haven’t dulled your memory concerning the Dark Lord’s capabilities?” Eledis asked.

  The younger man violently recoiled, hand slapping to the back of his neck, before he stilled and stared at his feet.

  “That’s what I thought. You’ll need all the help you can get, and Marcuset has more experience with strategizing and fighting battles than you ever will. He goes with you. Understood?”

  Kylorian’s head moved the merest fraction of an inch in acceptance.

  “And Marcu- Emri,” Eledis’ voice lowered and warmed, a tinge of urgency to denote what must be wordlessly conveyed. “Watch him.”

  His best and only friend’s heels clicked together as he held his hand over his heart and bowed.

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  He rose, head cocked to the side asking Did you like the performance? and I’ll see you on the other side, right? Imperceptibly nodding, Eledis shooed them away. His friend led Kylorian from the room, peppering the younger man with questions while he summoned a host of weapons from Alouin knew where.

  A stopgap move for now but better than nothing.

  When Eledis returned his attention to the remaining Ministers, he smirked at their ruffled composures. Although, he supposed anxiety had become a standard look for Oswin in the weeks following the Anniversary Ball.

  “What?” he snapped. “Don’t pretend you hadn’t noticed the exact resemblance in the years we’ve worked together. I assumed you three knew I was the old king based on your constant stubbornness and hostility.”

  Oswin opened his mouth to retort, hands drifting toward weapons, but Eledis waved him to silence.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not a threat to Raimie, now that my heart’s desire doesn’t demand his throne. I want to be king as much as I want to lose the coming battle. Raimie can keep the title and the pressures which come alongside it.”

  The tension holding the spymaster upright loosened, and he clutched at the windowsill as if his strings had been cut. The man did not look good. A disconcerting mix of red and bruise-like purples ringed his eyes, and his normally impeccable hygiene had taken a recent hit, leaving behind a patchy forest of stubble and knotted, mussed hair. Even his uniform suffered, several snapped buttons and greasy stains marring the front.

  Eledis hated to distress the man further-Oswin had proved a useful tool-but…

  “How exactly did an army of that size sneak up on the capital without the Hand noticing?” he demanded.

  “The five of us-” Oswin started.

  “Four, I think it’s now safe to say,” the human Minister-Umvarith, Eledis decided- interrupted.

  The spymaster sucked in air as if gut-punched, its intake stiffening and straightening him until he towered like a ship’s mast. Eledis watched the man struggle to keep grief from his face, to stop tears’ insistent crawl to the surface. Good man. They couldn’t afford for their best spy to devolve into a shuddering ball of pain.

  “The four of us,” Oswin began again, voice only briefly hitching on the change in number, “aren’t enough to cover the entire kingdom by ourselves, especially if we’re expected to safeguard royal lives as well. Protecting Auden is the military’s job. If I were to guess, I’d say this enemy marched from the former Eselan Haven. Uduli’s close proximity to the Haven might have allowed Doldimar to advance on the city without a warning first reaching us. A threat such as this is why I’ve pushed for the establishment of a garrison on the Haven-Auden border, but the Ministers never provided enough troops or funds to support one.”

  Oswin stopped, allowing the accusation to hang heavy in the air. The Eselan Minister-Xyro?-uncomfortably cleared his throat.

  “The past is the past. Let’s focus our efforts on our current disaster,” he said. “How do we plan to survive the army which comes for us like a storm from the Tear?”

  No one could provide an answer. Even Eledis was relegated to silence. At Raimie’s insistence, they’d composed plans to combat the eventuality of Doldimar’s return, but each of them required that they have time to prepare before the enemy stood on their doorstep. As it was, they had-Eledis glanced out the window-an hour, maybe two. If Kylorian and Emri could convince the troops to man the wall in that short time span, he’d count it a miracle. Even then, how long could they last?

  For the first time, Eledis caught himsel
f wishing Raimie was with him. Much that the boy’s presence disturbed him, certain circumstances proved his descendant’s usefulness. For instance, when the Ministers balked at solving a problem, who did they usually turn to for a solution?

  A startling crash broke their apprehensive silence, and Eledis spun, hardly daring to believe his thoughts had summoned Raimie. The hope was quickly squashed. A teenager fought to disentangle his body from the curtains in which he’d gotten caught. Out of breath from his sparring, he sprang to his feet, wild eyes scanning the room sans comprehension.

  “OhthankthegodsIfoundit,” he exhaled in one, unbroken burst.

  “Tejesper,” Eledis greeted.

  The Daevetch primeancer sprang away from the noise, hands coated in shadow, but the confusion which clouded his eyes quickly cleared at the sight of them.

  “Ministers!” he exclaimed, dispelling his summoned dark energy. “I’m sorry to be short, but I must see the Queen. Where is she?”

  “Calm down, Tejesper,” Oswin replied, moving forward with hands extended. “What’s wrong? Where’s Raimie?”

  “He’s on the isle, distracting Doldimar, or he was when I left. I’m not sure how long I was lost in the shadows,” Tejesper answered, eyes alighting on the door. “I must inform the Queen an attack is imminent!”

  He briskly strode toward what must have seemed an escape.

  “We already know,” Eledis said, halting Tejesper mid-step.

  He pointed toward the windows, and the teenager almost stumbled in his mad dash to press his nose against glass.

  “No…” he moaned, a hiccup interrupting his despairing sob.

  “Tejesper, what did you mean Raimie’s distracting Doldimar?” Oswin whispered, fear stealing his volume.

  The Daevetch primeancer’s tear-streaked face snapped to the spymaster, and he spat, “What I said. Doldimar came to play his games with the King, but Raimie would have none of it. He sent me here to raise the warning, but I’m too late, and we’re going to die…”

  The teenager returned to the outside view, drawn like a moth to flame, and his face slackened as if in intoxication’s beginning stages.

  “Take me to him,” Oswin demanded. “I won’t allow the idiot to get himself killed when I can help him. Not again.”

  “Can’t,” Tejesper responded, a peaceful grin pulling at his mouth. “Orders are to retreat to the fallback point once the message is delivered. Apparently, me and mine will be useless against Doldimar, despite hopes to the contrary.”

  Retreat. Fallback point. Take me to him. An idea tickled the back of Eledis’ mind, if only the others would hush long enough for it to form.

  “I don’t give a damn about your orders! I care about my friend! Take me to him!” Oswin shouted, reaching for Tejesper’s shoulder.

  The spymaster was on the ground before his hand could land, Tejesper’s shadow covered fist where Oswin’s stomach had been.

  “I follow the King’s orders, not yours.”

  The Daevetch primeancer slumped against glass, fingers of one hand splayed, and Eledis’ stomach twisted as he realized exactly why the Daevetch users would prove problematic in a fight against Doldimar.

  “Then, why,” Oswin coughed, “don’t you follow orders? Why aren’t you at the fallback point with your brethren?”

  Fallback point. Retreat. Take me. Brethren.

  Eledis somehow managed to hide his hiss as a plan crystallized in his head, all while suppressing a savage desire to scream, cry, and lash out. Oh, Illasaya… You’ve forgiven so much. I hope you can forgive this.

  “Tejesper’s stayed because he’s realized he and his fellows can do more for the King’s people. Everyone knows their safety is Raimie’s highest priority. If he were here, he’d change his orders for the Daevetch primeancers.”

  Both Oswin and Tejesper stared at him like he’d lost his mind. Good. The teenager wasn’t completely lost in Doldimar’s sway.

  “Exactly how would he change his orders?” Umvarith asked, desperation making his voice whine.

  Eledis was glad someone had asked. Continuing without a prompt would have been exceedingly awkward, not to mention irking.

  “The Daevetch primeancers can evacuate the city’s citizens.”

  Single-word questions and exclamations-What? How? No!-burst on Eledis’ ears, and he waved them quiet.

  “Daevetch primeancers possess an ability which allows near-instantaneous travel, and they can take others with them. On his investiture day, the King rescued the Queen by this method.”

  “All true,” Tejesper admitted before raising a finger, “but! Shade melding requires extreme concentration and force of will, and it’s not exactly the definition of precise. My trip to Uduli required at least a dozen attempts. Only the exceedingly powerful manage to land where they want to go.”

  “We don’t need precision,” Eledis interrupted with a scoff. “Anywhere besides the city would be preferable at the moment. Do you know what will happen when the gates fall and the Kiraak stream inside?”

  Tejesper’s hands curled into fists. “Yes,” he bit out, “which is why I’ll stay and retrieve Nessaira from wherever she hides, but you shouldn’t involve the others. They’re only children. I can barely resist Doldimar’s pull. What do you think will happen to them if they’re exposed?”

  Eledis pointed to the steadily advancing enemy soldiers, the tranquil city scene.

  “Children also live on those streets. They laugh and play while their parents watch over them, but their short lives are about to be uprooted,” he said. “Your people have the ability to help them. They should be presented with the choice.”

  The other four men held their breath while Tejesper fought an inevitable conclusion. The fists at his sides unclenched, and a long sigh escaped his lips.

  “I’ll ask,” he conceded. “What’s our target destination when we return?”

  “The gardens,” Eledis answered.

  Kheled’s jungle was the most easily recognizable landmark in Uduli. As an added benefit, a second wall, another line of defense, surrounded it. Under its canopy, Kheled and Nessaira had conducted many exercises with the primeancer students.

  “Aiming for a familiar target like the gardens will make our task simpler,” Tejesper mused. “Thank you. I’ll bring help as soon as I’m able.”

  Stalking into a patch of shadows, he vanished.

  “So the civilians are handled,” Oswin said, rising from the ground. “How do we hold the city?”

  “We don’t,” Eledis proclaimed, “or rather, we hinder Doldimar for as long as we can in order to evacuate as many Udulians as possible.”

  “But-” Xyro started.

  “Look at that army, Minister,” Eledis barked. “How many Kiraak do you see? A thousand? Five?”

  “Looks more like twenty. Fifteen thousand if we’re incredibly lucky,” Oswin answered for the other two.

  “And how many of our soldiers are in the city rather than scattered throughout the kingdom?”

  “One thousand four hundred and sixty-four,” Oswin intoned.

  The number gave Eledis pause. That low?

  “Exactly,” he managed to say without his voice shaking. “My hope is we can last long enough to evacuate a significant chunk of the population, but those hopes aren’t high.”

  “So, that’s it?” Umvarith drawled. “The plan is to fight as long as possible and then run? Sounds to me like you’re taking the coward’s way out. Again.”

  Eledis took a calming breath. The Minister used sarcasm and anger to blunt his terror. He didn’t truly mean what he’d said.

  “Do you have a better idea? Because if so, I’m all ears,” Eledis asked.

  Umvarith merely clenched his lips, unable to speak.

  “If not, I’d appreciate it if you, Xyro, and your respective networks gathered civilians in the gardens. I know it will be difficult, but try to keep them calm. You should be good at appeasement like that, or you wouldn’t hold ministerial positions.”


  The Udulians met the challenge with puffed chests and blustered words of acceptance.

  “Huh,” Eledis muttered to himself as they rushed from the room, “That’s the first time I’ve correctly guessed a Minister’s name.”

  “What about me, sir?” Oswin asked beside him.

  Eledis jumped. He’d almost forgotten the spymaster, the man blended into the background so well. What mission to relegate to Oswin… Oh! Perfect task for a spy!

  “Find Ren and try to convince her to leave. Protect her.”

  Oswin blanched which Eledis found amusing, although he could hardly blame the man. The further along in her condition the Queen progressed, the more irrational and irritable she became, and knowing Ren, she’d probably mirror her husband’s proclivities, insisting she stay with her people until the last possible second.

  “Oswin, listen to me,” Eledis demanded, grabbing the other man’s arm. “Your task might not be the most important from the city’s standpoint, but it’s essential for the sake of Raimie and his sanity. If either Ren or the baby dies…” Nylion will assume control. “I know you’ve always found my family’s foretelling silly, but you didn’t know the seer who made it as I did. Drena was many things, but she was never wrong. Raimie is essential for ridding the world of Doldimar. Don’t allow the deaths of his wife or child to compromise him!”

  The spymaster gently removed Eledis’ hand, all the while regarding him with inscrutable eyes. “I understand and accept the task, Eledis,” he said. “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, what do you plan to do?”

  Eledis smiled. How did he convey that despite his despair that his redemption had come in such a devastating way, joy sang along every nerve, saturating his brain with bright liberation?

  “I plan to fight.”

  * * *

  Twenty-one hours. They held for that long. Twenty-one hours.

  In honesty, the assertion wasn’t necessarily true. Twenty-one hours was how long Doldimar allowed them to resist endless Kiraak waves before sending his Enforcers inside the wall. The primeancers tore through Uduli’s defenders like they were nothing which, to those sadistic extensions of Doldimar’s will, they probably were.