Aerax had seen for himself bloodied tracks that vanished to nowhere. Bandits left signs of their passing. What Lizzan had seen left a sign in the claw marks on her face. Still Aerax’s uncle and the Kothan council claimed it was only bandits.
Yet Aerax needed no fine manners to know that if he said any of that now, Lady Junica or Degg would counter it all. Instead of presenting a request for help to the Krimathean, they would present a squabble.
And there were murderous thieves, too. “Two winters past, the bandits attempted to take the King’s Walk. Though they failed, the soldiers defending it were slaughtered.”
Riasa’s lips parted, her stunned gaze searching his face. None of Koth’s enemies had ever come near to taking the land bridge before. “How many?”
“Nearly a thousand,” he said grimly. Fully half of Koth’s soldiers.
“A thousand bandits?”
“That was the number of soldiers killed.” All but one. “There were fifty bandits.”
Into the astonished silence came Lady Junica’s heavy sigh. “We know not if that was the true number,” she said. “It was only the number that our scouts reported before the battle. But no one who fought that day survived. We believe it must have been many more, for our soldiers would not have fallen so easily.”
Again Aerax clamped his jaw to stop his reply. Lizzan had told them how the soldiers had fallen. Yet they had not believed a word she’d spoken.
Riasa frowned. “If all were killed, why did the bandits retreat?”
“They also must have sustained heavy losses—too many to continue their advance over the bridge,” she said. “Fifty bodies we found. So you see, that cannot have been their full number, for they still plague the outlands. Though there are no outlanders left for them to murder.”
“The bandits killed all the Kothans who lived off the island?”
Lady Junica shook her head. “We have brought the outlanders into Koth’s heart for their protection. Now our remaining army guards the shores and the King’s Walk . . . and we have not enough soldiers to patrol the forests and root out the marauders. That is why we seek Krimathe’s help.”
Riasa glanced at her future queen before looking again to the councilor. “What of the rumors that Koth has been abandoned?”
“Untrue,” Lady Junica said. “Never would our king leave the island.”
Never could he leave it. Not with Aerax away and his heir still unconfirmed—though Aerax wished for nothing more but an island empty of all its residents. As long as Kothan outlanders took refuge on the island, he could not destroy it.
But Aerax only said, “All were still on the island when we left.” And if that was not still true, there would be no island to return to. “Will you send warriors north to help Koth?”
The Krimathean’s dark gaze held his for a long moment, and dread hardened in like a solid weight in Aerax’s chest before she slowly shook her head.
By the torrent of indrawn breaths around him, Aerax was the only one unsurprised by her response.
Riasa spoke, sounding baffled. “Your answer is that we are not assisting the Kothans, my lady?”
She confirmed the captain’s words with a nod.
“Whyever not?” A strident note of fear in Lady Junica’s voice was quickly smoothed as she continued, “My lady, if you fear the Destroyer will appear in Krimathe as suddenly as he did before and catch your realm unawares, surely that is not possible? None of us knew that he could come through Stranik’s Passage instead of taking the mountain passes, but this time . . .”
She trailed off when the Krimathean fixed her with a look and shook her head. That was not the reason.
Lady Junica tried again. “Do you fear that Koth will not return the favor and send our soldiers to Krimathe when the Destroyer comes? That might have been true a generation past. None of our realms helped each other; we were only concerned with protecting our own. But now there is an alliance—” She broke off as the Krimathean denied that reason, as well. “If the alliance’s plans fail, and the Destroyer secures the passage before our armies retreat south, Koth might be a valuable refuge for all. The Destroyer did not attempt to cross the King’s Walk. But if these marauders take the island first, no refuge will there be for any of us.”
With a sigh, again the Krimathean indicated that was not her reason for denying them.
Then they all looked to Tyzen as he said, “Could these bandits be one