Raidan glared at his eldest son. “He’ll never be able to prove himself as long as you keep treating him like your manservant.”
“That’s not fair, Father,” Raidu shot back. “I’ve always looked out for him, always protected him…”
“Be quiet, Son,” Raidan commanded. “This is not the time for us to talk about your relationship with your brother. I need to discuss what will happen should I fall in battle today.”
Raidu swallowed hard and his body tensed.
That got his attention!
“If I die, you will be king. Do you realize what that means?” Raidan stared into his son’s eyes.
“Of course I do, and I’ll be ready, but you’re not going to die today, Father,” Raidu insisted, frowning. He had a way of tilting down one eyebrow that instantly transformed his face into a masculine version of Taya’s.
Again, Raidan felt longing for his wife, like a shard of glass, pierce his heart. “Denial won’t change things, Son. I may die today, and I won’t feel easy unless I know you understand what must be done if I do.” He held up his hand to forestall the protest forming on Raidu’s lips. “Just listen! If Sen Sakehera survives the initial battle, and I don’t, then he will be in complete charge of the army. You follow his directions without question. He will be Alasiri’s last hope to avoid total conquest.”
Raidan paused to gauge his son’s reaction. Raidu had grown somber, with not the slightest hint of insolence in his eyes. “If the worst should happen and Sakehera also falls, then you must take whatever forces we have left, abandon the valley and retreat to Sendai.”
“And what if we can’t hold Sendai, Father?”
“Then your first duty is to survive and to ensure the survival of the elves as a people. If that means,” he had to force his next words past tense lips, “surrender and submission, then so be it. The elves can’t liberate themselves if they’re all dead. Our people will need a living Onjara as well, to eventually lead them back to freedom.”
Raidu lifted his chin and clenched both fists. “I have no intention of ever surrendering to the humans, Father,” he said. “I would rather die, and so should every okui. We’ll slaughter as many of them as we can until they kill the last of us. Then, they can have the hikui dregs for their slaves!”
“Goddess’ tits!” Raidan shouted. Raidu flinched and stepped back. “Son,” the prince continued, struggling to keep himself in check. “The elves as a people must survive . That is the most important…no, the only thing that matters. Swear to me… swear , Raidu, that you will obey my orders should the battle not go our way!”
The younger prince’s gaze remained unwavering, but the slight drop of his shoulders told Raidan his son had yielded.
“Yes, Father. I swear.”
Raidan regarded his son, who stood before him brimming with such vitality and youthful arrogance, and his heart ached with sadness.
If only my children could be spared this calamity , he thought. He sighed and turned away. “When you’re ready, meet me at the castle gates,” he said over his shoulder as he left the tent.
The predawn darkness roiled with the sounds of an army readying itself for battle. Men and women shouted, horses neighed, armor clanked and harness jingled. The smells of wood smoke, dry grass, and horse manure permeated the air. High on the castle battlements, a bell rang the hour.
Raidan made his way through the controlled maelstrom, cursorily acknowledging the salutes of his troops. When he reached the outer gates, he found Odata and Morio waiting for him. The contingent of mages assigned to help with the frontal defense waited there as well.
The old man whom Sonoe had supplanted had charge of them. He stepped up to Raidan and sketched a bow. “My lord Prince, we will need an area up on the walls where we can view the entire battlefield so we might effectively aim our attacks. The captains up there won’t let us position ourselves in front. They say we will interfere with the archers!”
“Master…”
“Katram, my lord.”
“Master Katram, you and your fellow mages can position yourselves against the western tower. You should have a clear view of the valley and you’ll have the archers on the tower to cover you.”
“We require no additional protection, my lord Prince,” Katram sniffed. “But I suppose it does make more sense for us to be against the tower. Very well.” He gestured for the other mages to follow and the group headed toward the stairs leading up to the battlements.
“You never have put much faith in magic, have you, Highness?” Odata said as she watched the mages threading their way through the swirl of moving bodies filling the yard.
“Not true. I’ve always had the utmost faith in magic,” Raidan countered. “I’ve lived with Alasiri’s premier mage for over forty years, so I’m quite familiar with what magic can and can’t do. It will give us a much needed advantage, but it can’t save us in the end if we fail militarily.”
Morio shifted from foot to foot. Raidan glanced at the other man’s face and it looked as though the Lord of Ayame had something especially bitter in his mouth he had to chew.
“What’s troubling you, Morio?” Raidan asked.
Morio took a deep breath, much like a man does before diving into deep water. “I don’t like having to say this, especially now,” he replied. He looked through the gates at the frenzy of activity beyond.
Raidan felt a flash of annoyance. “Please say what you need to, my lord!” he growled.
“Very well.” Morio’s black eyes narrowed as he spoke. “It’s about Prince Raidu. I’ve had a chance to observe him closely these past weeks, and it pains me greatly to say this, but I must. If you should fall, then I don’t have much faith in his ability to lead. He is simply not ready!”
“If not my son, then who?” Raidan asked. A swell of anger rose within him, threatening to sweep away all his self control. “You’ve already made it clear you won’t support my niece Jelena. If not my son, or my brother’s daughter, then who? ”
Morio remained silent for a few heartbeats. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “It seems disaster hems us in on all sides.”
“Do the other lords lack faith in my son?”
Raidan saw his answer in Odata’s eyes. “Your great lords will obey your orders, my lord Prince,” she murmured.
“I need to attend to something,” Raidan said. “Stay here. I’ll return shortly.” He turned on his heel and stalked away. As he passed through the gates, he heard Odata calling after him, but he ignored her. He had no real errand. He just needed to walk.
Morio thinks disaster hems us in and my son is not fit to lead. The worst of it is he’s right!
Raidan’s bleak thoughts beat against the inside of his head like bats as he moved along the base of the wall toward the west tower. The area lay deserted; the companies camped here had already vacated it. The fading stars overhead presaged the approach of the new day.
Sakehera’s forces should already be in place and ready to engage the Soldarans.
The storm is almost upon us.
“Prince Raidan!”
The hail came from somewhere up ahead. Raidan halted in his tracks and peered into the darkness. He could just make out a figure trotting toward him.
A scout, perhaps?
He waited while the figure approached.
“My lord! I’m so glad I found you!” The voice sounded familiar; Raidan felt certain he had spoken to this man before.
“Have you something to report to me, scout?” he called out.