Jilandessa started to cast a spell, then shook her head. “A week ago this battle took place, not much more. The victims here lasted two or three days, five at the most.”
The prince nodded. The cylinder would have collected the sounds of their dying and sent it through the mountains like an ill wind. No one knowing of the attack and hearing that finale would have ventured forth. The silence that came with their deaths would have been welcome, but would have encouraged people to stay hidden.
Jullagh-tse Seegg pointed south. “The Aurolani went that way. We will catch up with them soon if we follow.”
Erlestoke frowned. “The first thing we do is find a place to hole up, then we backtrack and see if we can find a parallel route. If we can’t, then we follow in their wake. They’re not going to let themselves fall into another ambush like this, but what we see here doesn’t mean they’ll be unopposed hereafter. Our goal is to get through—and we will, somehow.”
He took a last look at the walls. “We have to. If we don’t, there are many other places where we’ll see this and worse.”
53
Alexia had known this meeting was important even before both King Bowmars put in an appearance. The man she had first been introduced to as King Bowmar had, in fact, been Crown Prince Bowmar. When he was present with his father in the map room they could not have seemed more different, save for similar masks and almost identical robes. The elder Bowmar was shorter than his son, balding and stoop-shouldered and reminded her of her grandfather.
When he spoke, however, the true king seemed his son’s age. He spoke with clarity and even wit. He—they, Alexia corrected herself—had a tactician’s grasp on the state of their nation that few other rulers would have understood or accepted. The king did not shrink from the grim assessment of things indicated on the maps and models.
The crisis Muroso faced had forced the two Bowmars to undertake a most dangerous and radical exchange of spells. As it was explained to her, because of their consanguinity and long years of association, during which the true king had not only raised his heir but had instructed him in the ways of magick, the two of them were singularly like-minded. Together they worked a spell that was a variation of one that allowed magickers to cocast a spell that linked them very tightly. What one knew, the other did as well.
The crown prince said to her, “It is not as if we share a mind; we simply share memories. We benefit from each other’s experiences. While one rests, the other works.”
While Alexia understood the idea of the magick, the reality of it made her uneasy. Giving another access to her memories was something she could never do. It was a sacrifice of self that she couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
But, then, I was raised to be entirely at the disposal of my nation, so am I really any different? She had accepted fully that her life would be subordinate to the cause of her nation—at least she had until she’d fallen in love with Crow. But in her case, at the very least, she had the illusion of free will, which the magick denied both kings.
The elder king studied the latest maps of the situation near Porjal. “Pursuit of the refugees to Nawal has been cursory only. Reports do put the sul-lanciri as gathering their host for a drive south here to Caledo. This was not unanticipated, and our strategy to deal with them has kindly been supplied by Princess Alexia.”
He pointed to a small unit located roughly sixty miles north-northeast of the capital. “Here are our Freeman Rangers, more or less. We have not had reports from them that betray their location, but we anticipate that they have reached roughly this area. They have made good progress, and as the Aurolani host moves south, they will be able to cut the supply lines.”
Bowmar the senior picked up a small block of wood representing a military unit just outside the capital. “We will take these troops, the main bulk of our force, north along the Porjal road to the Green Dales and set up our first battle. We will let them know we are there, so they will set up to deploy against us, then we shall fade from that attack after inflicting some initial casualties. We will ambush pursuit to convince them they need to approach slowly.”
Alexia nodded. The elder King Bowmar would not actually be with that force, which was comprised of four crack regiments. They had only one regiment of cavalry, but it was the best in Muroso, with three battalions of light horse for pursuit and one of heavy horse for devastating attacks. Of the three infantry regiments, one was comprised of scouts and rangers who would be able to form up in small hunter-killer groups to harry the enemy advance. The other two regiments were more standard and would be used to hit and hold the enemy when things became serious.
Crown Prince Bowmar would be in command of that force. Alexia had been told that his distance from his father would affect how quickly they could read each other’s memories, so the elder would not be seeing what his son saw as his son saw it. They said the delay was something on the order of an hour per mile of distance. Arcanslata reports would come faster, but would contain a lot less detail.
King Bowmar’s dark eyes flicked toward Alexia. “You, Princess, will lead this secondary force up the Nawal road and keep it parallel with our force. You will be able to strike east and hit the flank of the Aurolani host.”
She nodded. “I do know my role.” It had rankled her a little that her strategy had been taken over by the Murosans and that she had been given a smaller force to command, but she quelled her unease quickly. She was a foreigner; young, and, in the eyes of many, utterly untested. For her to have been given the command she had—two regiments of cavalry—was a great honor. She wished she had her Wolves riding with her, but they were off in Okrannel fighting alongside General Adrogans.
The old man’s eyes sparkled for a moment, and his son smiled. “Oh, Princess, we do know you would like to hit the Aurolani when they form up their column to march south again. If that appears to be something that would work, we shall permit it.”
“It would hurt them badly, but would only be done if it would not pose undue risk to my command.” She kept her voice even, and had to suppress a smile. Her use of the word “undue” had been deliberate to distance herself from the insane unnecessary risks Resolute and Crow would be taking.
The crown prince gathered his hands at the small of his back. “Princess Sayce has requested to be allowed to join your force.”
Alexia frowned. “I thought she was meant to be part of my force since the beginning.”
“She was, but I argued against her joining you.” Princess Dayley glanced angrily at her brother. “Sayce has done more than enough.”
Alyx rubbed her hands over her eyes. Dayley was using the tone mothers use when protecting children, and if Dayley was linked to her mother the way Bowmar was linked to his father, the implications of that were too much for her to want to contemplate. She blinked and remembered that Dayley was not a sorceress, just a member of the Communion. If this were something of import that she wanted me to know about and say nothing, she could have told me there. I have to conclude, then, this is some internal Murosan matter.
The Okrans princess folded her arms over her chest. “It is true that Sayce has done a lot. She ventured south, found the Norrington, and dragged him north. She fought well and almost died in Bokagul. With her nation facing extinction, however, I’m not sure anyone can determine if what she’s done is enough aside from her. The warriors who went south with her were drawn from the King’s Scarlet Lancers, and I have them with me. While I don’t think they need her to lead them or even inspire them, she can do both, and do both well. If she is free to join me, I would like to have her along.”