Gilded Serpent Danielle Jensen (i can read with my eyes shut .TXT) 📖

Good enough for warmth in a tiny shelter heated with a stove, but out there? In the wind?

Not good enough.

A whine of pain split the air.

The damned thing was still alive.

Frowning, Marcus went to the door, pressing his ear against the wood. Faintly, he could make out the labored breathing of the animal, which couldn’t be more than a dozen paces from the shack. He had assumed it would be long dead and frozen before they could reach it, and therefore nearly unusable. But what if it survived the night?

A plan formed in his head, and smiling to himself, Marcus pulled his knife and began cutting the blanket into pieces.

Enjoy your time in command, Titus, he thought to himself. You won’t have it for long.

 39KILLIAN

Killian dismounted from his horse and handed the reins to Finn, who handed him a rag in exchange.

“You need a healer?” Finn asked, frowning at him. “I can’t tell if any of that is yours.”

Wiping the rag across his face, Killian frowned at the blood and sweat, then shook his head. “It’s not mine.”

All of it was from Anuk raiders that he’d fought. That he’d killed.

Sonia fell into step next to him, the light armor she wore as blood-splattered as his own, her eyes shadowed with exhaustion. “Why do they keep coming?” she muttered. “Is their avarice so great?”

Killian hadn’t thought so. The raids had always been more like sport for the Anuk. A game the desert people played to see who could steal the most gold out from under the scorpion’s nose. But nothing about the battles he’d fought in recent days felt like a game. They’d been vicious, the Anuk refusing to retreat even when they’d lost, fighting until the last of their warriors hit the earth and fell still. “I don’t know.”

The not knowing was fraying his nerves, because instead of the number of raids decreasing, they were getting more frequent by the day. And until he could find a way to quell them, he would have to remain in Rotahn.

Reaching the building that served as the center of command as well as barracks for him and his officers, he stepped inside, breathing in a mouthful of cool air, the shade a welcome respite from the endless sun.

It was short-lived.

Ria, along with a Rowenes captain named Dwyer, sat at the table in the center, sipping wine. Beads of condensation trickled down their glasses, suggesting she’d brought precious ice with her from the fortress in order to keep her drink cool. At the sight of him, Dwyer rose, though Ria remained seated.

“My lady.” Killian inclined his head. “We weren’t expecting you.”

Ria’s eyes flicked over him, her brow furrowing. “Another raid?”

He nodded.

“Then circumstances are worsening rather than improving as we’d hoped?”

“Of course they’re worsening,” Dwyer muttered. “He’s not playing by the rules.”

“Mind your tone when speaking to your betters, Captain,” Ria snapped. “He is a lord of the realm and marked by Tremon, and you will show him every courtesy.”

Killian’s skin prickled. “Let him speak his mind, my lady. If he has insight into the Anuk’s behavior, I’d hear it.”

The Rowenes captain crossed his arms. “It’s always been practice to allow the raiders to retreat once they’ve been repelled, but you’ve not been allowing them the opportunity. Mark my words, the increase in their efforts is retaliation for your brutality. Sir.” He added the last after a significant hesitation.

“We do allow them to retreat,” Sonia snapped. “They won’t take it. The deaths are on them, not on Lord Calorian.”

“I wasn’t speaking to you, Gamdeshian,” Dwyer sneered. “So keep your mouth shut.”

Killian’s temper flared, his hands balling into fists at his side. “Mind your tone, Dwyer. Not only is she my lieutenant, she’s correct. The Anuk show no interest in retreat or surrender.”

“Because of your heavy hand!” Dwyer glowered at him. “You’ve riled them up fierce. With the way things are going, the Anuk are going to cross the border in force, and then Mudamora can place two invasions at your feet.”

“Enough!” Ria snarled. “Leave, Captain. I’ll hear no more of these accusations.”

The other man stormed out of the building, slamming the door behind him.

“My apologies, Lord Calorian,” Ria said, smoothing her skirts once. Then again. “We’ve not seen this much violence in our lifetimes, and it has everyone on edge. But Dwyer is loyal to me to a fault.”

So much violence. And apparently the worst of it could be laid at his feet. Killian’s stomach twisted. Motioning to Sonia to go, he waited until she’d disappeared into the barracks before asking, “What would you have me do, Ria? I can’t stop them from attacking, I can only repel them when they do. And neither can I force them to retreat. This is the only avenue.”

“I don’t know.” She bit at her bottom lip. “Warfare is your expertise, Killian. Not mine. All I know is that every day things seem to grow worse in Mudamora.”

“You’ve received word from Mudaire?” The words came out faster than he’d intended, and he bit the inside of his cheeks.

“Only that the blight remains and that it continues to infect, despite the healers’ best efforts.”

Lydia was one of those healers.

“Anukastre must sense Mudamora’s weakness,” she said. “And rather than standing with us against the Corrupter, they aim to take advantage. And that terrifies me, because I don’t know how much more our kingdom can take before it falls.”

Killian’s skin crawled, his mark screaming warning after warning of danger to the point he could barely think. Which was no wonder, because it seemed to be coming from all sides.

Then alarm bells jangled outside, the thud of booted feet filling the air. “More raiders,” he said. “I have to go.”

But before he could turn, Ria rose to her feet, clutching at his wrist despite it being coated with dried blood. “It is your duty to protect Mudamora, Marked One. Please don’t fail us.”

Killian heard the words she didn’t say. Please don’t fail us again.

The sun was beginning to set as he dispatched