now regret not crushing Shadowport before Admiral Kramer’s incompetence sank our navy.’
Barandas nodded. Sumnians were celebrated warriors on land and in the native desert of their homeland on the other side of the continent, but they lacked any experience of maritime conflict.
‘I believe the Sumnian army will march soon,’ he said. ‘They know we cannot launch an assault. Not without a navy. The White Lady will be aware of your… forgive me, your weakened state, my lord. Now is the right time for her to make her move.’
The Tyrant of Dorminia narrowed his eyes dangerously. ‘I am not as weak as they suspect. Nor will I allow myself to be taken unawares again. The White Lady’s servants are skilled in the art of sophistry, but I am prepared now. If they dare intrude here I will kill them.’
‘Sophistry, my lord?’ asked Barandas.
‘A form of magic focused on subtle deception and mental manipulation. The Fade were masters of it, back when they roamed these lands. They could live unnoticed within a city for decades. It was but one of many racial attributes that made them so incredibly dangerous.’ The Magelord’s voice trailed off as he spoke, as if he were troubled by something. Barandas knew better than to push further.
Lord Salazar suddenly rose from his throne. ‘I must leave Dorminia for a time. I am owed an ancient favour, though calling on it will not be pleasant. There are some things that time can never heal. As I have learned all too well.’
Barandas was shocked at the sorrow in his master’s voice. ‘My lord… you are leaving the city? Who will govern in your name, with Grand Magistrate Timerus still unfit for office?’
‘I will not be gone long, Supreme Augmentor. I am sure you can manage in my absence. The Halfmage will assist you. He possesses a keen intellect as well as a certain cunning. Keep an eye on him.’
Barandas bowed his head. ‘I will, my lord.’
Salazar nodded. ‘I will detain you no longer.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Your dedication is appreciated, Supreme Augmentor.’
Barandas almost gasped. One learned to expect many things from a Magelord, but gratitude was not among them. For the second time in his life, he had been handed a precious gift by the master of Dorminia.
City of Towers
The Lady’s Luck docked in Thelassa four days after setting out from the Swell. The weather had held and the ship made good time. Although Cole was confined to a small cabin under the silent watch of one of the crew, he had found the journey almost pleasant when compared with the torturous conditions aboard the Redemption.
The door of his cabin creaked open a fraction and the guard peered into the room. ‘We have arrived. Follow me,’ she said. Cole got up from the tiny bed and followed her out of the cabin and up onto the deck. The sight that greeted him caused him to stop abruptly.
Cole had never travelled much beyond Dorminia’s walls, but he had often spoken with merchants and others who had visited the City of Towers. Their tales had seemed wild and impossible at the time.
They didn’t seem so far-fetched now.
Where Dorminia slumped in a chaotic mass of buildings shoved together so haphazardly that they seemed likely to collapse in a shower of grey stone, Thelassa was a soaring testament to the vision of the most skilled architects of the Age of Strife. Delicate towers reached for the clouds, framing wide avenues of white marble that gleamed in the morning sun. Lining the flawless streets were trees and shrubbery cultivated into wondrous shapes: griffins and unicorns and other beasts that were said to have roamed the world before the Godswar. Now the forests north and west of the Trine held nothing but scattered game, and even they were beginning to disappear.
‘It’s like a dream,’ he whispered, awestruck. He despised Salazar more than ever then, for his grey city and the grim, tyrannical rule that bled the life from his subjects. Here, in this place, was proof that humanity was not beyond redemption.
‘Get your hands off me, you pox-ridden whore,’ snarled an angry voice, and he turned to see Three-Finger being prodded along the ramp connecting the ship to the docking platform where he waited.
‘You’re alive!’ Cole exclaimed. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face. The other man looked up and grunted in acknowledgment. Others survivors from the Redemption began to emerge onto the deck, but before he could identify individual faces a firm