waist and holding on to the kehok’s fur with her other hand, Tamra urged the silver jaguar forward, and ran with her army toward the desert, Raia with Prince Dar beside them on the black lion.
Dar had never felt like an emperor before, but as he waited with their army of kehoks for the Ranirans several miles outside of the Heart of Becar, he thought for the first time, I can do this.
Seeing them, the army slowed, and a man on a horse walked forward. The horse’s flanks were coated in sweat so thick that it looked as if he was shimmering. The man looked like the perfect soldier: arm muscles as thick as Dar’s thighs, armor that had seen plenty of battles, a scar above his right eye. A general, judging from the colors on his helmet. He halted several yards from Dar.
“This is new,” the general said. “Also, foolish.”
“Becar is not for the taking,” Dar said.
The general flashed what was most likely intended as a charming smile. “We aren’t here to take. We’re here to help! I was under the impression that you needed assistance with civilian unrest. Our information said the empire was faltering due to the lack of an emperor.” He sounded urbane, as if they were meeting for tea in a garden, not under the hot sun with armies at their backs.
“Your information is out-of-date,” Dar said. “Take your army and go home.”
“You realize that it’s not possible to hold this many kehoks for an extended battle,” the man said, as if he were scolding them. “History is rife with such failures.”
As if on cue, all the kehoks screamed simultaneously. Dar saw the enemy army shuffle nervously. The front lines inched backward, and the soldiers whispered to one another.
Softly, Raia whispered, “Trainer Verlas, can you control them?”
“Mama can do it,” Shalla said.
Tamra shuddered, sweat glistening on her skin. Dar wondered briefly what it was doing to her, controlling so many kehoks at once. History might be full of failures, but it said little about successes. He knew of no one who had led this many kehoks for this length of time. This has to end now, he thought. He glanced at Tamra and her daughter. The young girl’s eyes were wide, terrified, but she hadn’t let a hint of fear color her voice. Brave child, he thought. He needed to be brave now too.
He had to end this, for all the children of Becar.
“I am Prince Dar, soon to be emperor of Becar, and I tell you we are not in need of your ‘assistance.’ Again, take your army and leave. You are not welcome here.”
“I am General Sambian of the Raniran Empire, and I say whether I am welcome, boy-king. You do not yet wear a crown, and you wield an army you cannot hope to control.”
Through gritted teeth, Tamra said, “I. Can’t. Hold. Them. All.”
Raia grabbed her hand and said, “Let me help.”
Dar looked at the stretch of soldiers in front of him, and then down the line at the kehoks. There was one simple fact that the general had overlooked. This wasn’t a battle of two human armies; there was only one army here. “We do not need to control our army. All we need to do is set them free. We have no one here to lose. You do.”
The general paled.
“I can’t . . .” Tamra whispered. “The deaths on my soul . . . Already so many . . .”
“These will be on mine,” Dar said firmly. “As emperor-to-be, I take responsibility for protecting my people, in any way that I can.” This was the best he could hope for: to release the monsters out here, in the desert, where they’d harm only their enemy. His people would be safe within their city. Raising his voice so the general could hear, he said, “We ride the fastest racer in the empire. The kehoks will not catch us if we run. Can you say the same?”
The soldiers began to mutter to one another.
“Surrender, General Sambian,” Dar said calmly.
“Our orders are to take Becar, and a pack of mongrels will not prevent the great kingdom of Ranir from claiming the weak and corrupt empire of Becar, as is our destiny,” the general said. “We will not surrender to a boy who will never be crowned.”
The kehoks howled, pawing at the sand.
“So be it,” Dar said.
Tamra couldn’t keep hold of the rage and fear that had fueled her through the attack on the