The Rising (The Rising #4) - Kristen Ashley Page 0,130
first bastion of defense for the all-important Bay.
Along it stood manned cannons.
And amongst them, ordinary citizens.
Some who had come to watch.
Some who held bows in their hands and quivers of arrows at their backs who had come to help if it was needed.
It would not be needed.
“They will lay down their arms.”
Ellie saying this brought his attention to her.
“They will not lay down their arms,” he replied.
“They will lay down their arms.”
“My darling, they’re not going to lay down their arms.”
Her gaze swung to the plain. “We are not outnumbered this time.”
They would not lay down their arms.
He did not repeat himself.
He ordered, “You do not leave this position.”
Her eyes jumped again to him.
“We agreed,” he reminded her. “We do not leave this position. The rulers of all realms, including the Princess Regent of this one, stands still, watching their defeat, gaining it not having to lift a finger. Yes?”
She didn’t reply.
“It’ll be over soon,” he muttered, his eyes drifting back to the plain.
“They must know this is futile. Why won’t they lay down their arms?” she asked.
“I don’t know the answer to that question,” he told her, not taking his attention from the thousands of men lined before him. “For, honest to the gods, I do not know why they’re taken up in the first place.”
His wife shuffled her horse closer to his.
He remained steady on Caelus.
They sat their steeds.
And waited.
Marian
Silbury Henge, Argyll Forest
AIREN
“What is this place?” Marian asked carefully as she watched him move from stone to stone, touching each with a reverence she had never seen of him.
Nor would have ever expected.
He did not answer at first.
“Daemon, I do not get a good feeling about this place,” she warned, when he was standing at the last, great stone that protruded from the ground.
It was one that had part of it shorn by time or other earthly element, the great slab that had fallen away embedded in the earth beside it.
And he was glaring at it with distaste.
He turned to her, his expression changing, and she absolutely did not get a good feeling about that new look on his face.
She started backing up.
“You should not run, for you know I will catch you,” he said.
She continued backing up.
He shrugged, the apology all over his expression screaming in her face even if he was fifteen feet away.
“I needed your magic, of course,” he said.
“You cannot have it,” she replied.
He nodded his head, slowly moving her way.
She started backing up much faster.
“I know,” he told her. “Thus, I shall have to take it. It is too bad he escaped. I could have perhaps…eased things for you if I had his magic too. It was rather strong. Not as strong as he liked to think. But it was strong. Indeed, I hope yours is enough. I would hate to have to delay, having to find another witch.”
That fucking, fucking priest.
“Daemon, what do you intend to do?” she asked, still backing away.
“Free them,” he answered.
That surprised her, so much, it nearly caused her to stop.
But only nearly.
“Free who?”
He smiled.
It was horrible.
And thus, no other thought entered her head.
Instead, she turned to race away.
Frey Drakkar
Back Balcony, Sky Citadel, Sky Bay
AIREN
The cry of the captain at the front who raised his sword carried all the way up to him where he stood on the balcony.
“Seriously?” he heard his wife ask behind him.
She’d heard it too.
“I’d rather you be inside,” he said, again.
“Compromise, husband,” she reminded him. “I’m back here, so no stray arrows or whatever, come near me, you’re there, like you’re immune to stray arrows, but we won’t get into that. And you tell me what’s happening.”
“Loud enough we can hear too!” Cora called from her place at an opened window where all the women had gathered.
Gods save him from parallel-world women.
Or any of them, for that matter, since the queens of this realm were back there too.
“Fuck,” he bit, as he watched and saw the first lines break into a charge at the lane.
“It’s beginning,” Finnie said.
“They’re charging,” he announced.
“Balls,” he heard Silence say.
And then they came as whirling zing noises.
The strike of them against rock came as loud cracks.
The company of mermales formed from their tridents imbedded at random intervals all over the sides of the cliffs.
They took their tridents up.
And on a call from Jorie, who had formed amongst them, they let fly.
The tridents soared through the air, puncturing all the soldiers charging at the front of the line, bringing it down.
Those long staffs with their wide, cruel, triple prongs