Chapter 1

Drayford, Dunwic’s Reach, Kingsheart

It took several minutes for the banging at the door, firm as it was, to push through into William’s consciousness. The days following the Battle of Twyver where William, Aldric, and Garris, along with the eastern Kingsheart barons, had secured the town and freed Rivermark from Edmund’s forces, had been a whirlwind of audiences and councils as the rebels figured out their next moves.

William hated to think of himself like that, as a rebel, but it was the correct term for it. Edmund, after all, was technically the next in line for the throne, although, in a sane world, his right would have been annulled by the fact that he murdered his predecessor and nephew to gain it.

Still, he held the throne in Sidor, so the men opposing him were, in fact, rebels. And rebellions were tricky affairs. Without the finely worked lines of fealty and loyalty that held a kingdom like Sidor together, every negotiation became a battle unto itself as the various personalities vied for their seat at the table. Talk of campaign strategy quickly turned into what each wanted when the battles were done and the dust settled. Everyone seemed more eager for the war to be done than actually doing the work to finish it.

It was exhausting, and William preferred the clarity of battle over that any day. Thankfully, Aldric was much more adept at this and kept things moving as best he could without upsetting the careful alliance they had put together. William tried to pay attention and take mental notes as best he could, but mostly, he was ready for this to all be done so they could move forward with winning the war.

Another round of knocks finally pulled William all the way awake, putting his thoughts about the last several days to the back of his mind as he wondered who could possibly be bothering him. The sun was just barely above the horizon through the window.

Who in the world could be at his door this early? He might not have guards on his door as he did on campaign, but Baron Kenmore had put him, his uncle, and Sinclair on the same floor of the keep as his family, which should come with some level of security.

“What?”

In answer, the knock came again. William grumbled and pushed himself off the goose-down mattress he’d been so comfortably sleeping on. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stormed to the door and threw it open.

“What in...” he started to angrily say, only to stop cold when he realized it was his uncle standing at the door.

“Sorry to wake you,” Aldric said, smiling at William’s sudden turnaround. “I know it’s early.”

“Uhh, no ... no, it’s fine,” William said, still mentally adjusting. “Is everything okay?”

The last time Aldric had come to see him so abruptly, it was to tell him he was leaving Lynese to come home and try to fix the problems between Edmund and the barons. Which had not ended particularly well.

“Everything’s fine,” he said, walking in past William and pulling a chair out, gesturing for his nephew to sit back on the bed. “I know it’s been a long few days, but I wanted a moment to discuss our next moves.”

“Hopefully, that means Baron Sinclair and the others are done discussing strategy and will be ready to move soon. We can’t afford to linger here after our victory. Every moment we delay gives Edmund time to gather reinforcements from deeper in the duchy and the Icelands.”

“Yes, that is one of the things Garris and I discussed late last night, after the council broke up. You’ll be happy to hear we should be prepared to march within the next two days, although there have been some ... disagreements on priorities.”

William had paid attention in the meetings and knew very well where those disagreements lay.

“I understand his desire to retake Iron Keep, and generally, I also agree that we need to avoid fighting on two fronts, but I still say splitting our forces in half is madness. We should keep the bulk of our strength pushing into Kingsheart where we’ll be encountering entrenched positions and a population less eager to see us. A third of the army should be enough to take back Iron Keep now that we’ve choked off reinforcements through the bay.”

“I’m not sure you can say we’ve choked it off. There has been some success in limiting the ships they’ve gotten through, but your father still controls half the shoreline along Alther, and word is that he’ll be getting more boats in the water soon. It’s also probably not a coincidence that raiding from Alchmara is up.”

“I get that but...”

“I’m not disagreeing with you, William. I’m simply saying things aren’t as cut and dry as you might like them to be.”

“I know, but the same applies in the other direction. We have four months until winter, and my father will not care how much of Shadowhold is ravaged by Maw season. In fact, I’d wager he’s counting on it to weaken our forces, either by the creatures pushing further north than ever before or by our having to divert a large part of our army to deal with them. The smartest move for us is to whittle down loyalist resources and take what we can. More importantly, we need to push far enough forward to secure the harvest coming in over the next few months. I promise you my father will strip the land near us bare, denying us the means to feed our men. He has no qualms about letting his own people starve if it hurts his enemies.”

William was surprised when a look of pride crossed Aldric’s face. “You’ve given this considerable thought.”

William shrugged and said, “I have. More importantly, time is short for us to do anything. Our scouts report new forces already gathering west of Glasswater Lake. If we don’t act soon, we’ll lose whatever advantage we’ve gained.”

“You’ve truly grown, William. Your ability to see the entire field of battle ... it’s remarkable. I think you’ll be happy to know that Garris has more or less agreed with all of that.”

“He did?”

“Indeed,” Aldric confirmed. “The current debate is merely about determining our available resources and the best way to counter Edmund’s moves.”

“Well, that’s ... that’s good to hear. Then, when we move, I would like to take my forces and go with you. Iron Keep men would be better suited for retaking the east, and some of my men are from the western baronies and will have both knowledge of the land and connections to perhaps bring more nobles to our side.”

“While I would like nothing more than to have you with me when we march west, that’s not the assignment we have for you.”

“What? Uncle, you can’t leave me here to ... whatever, protect the south while you and Garris move out. If you don’t take me west, at least...”

“You have me wrong,” Aldric said, holding up a hand to stop William’s complaints. “I’m not planning on leaving you behind or sending you with Garris. We need you to return to Rendalia so you can bring the rest of your army here. I know you could only fit a fraction of what you had available on the ships you brought, since you took a dangerous route. It’s time for you to go back and get the rest.”

Again, William was shocked. Being held back in reserve was bad enough, but to be shipped back to Lynese in the midst of the war? How could his uncle do this? Sending him away just when they started to gain momentum.

“What?” William finally managed to sputter. “Uncle, you can’t be serious. I should be here, leading our men, not ... not running errands across the sea!”

“I know this is difficult for you, William. Believe me, I do. But this isn’t an errand. It’s crucial to our success.”

“But why do I even need to go? Pembroke is there now. Why can’t he bring the men across himself? He’s the only one who’s been with the army the entire time, since Uncle Gavric sailed across two years ago. He’s more than capable of taking care of this.”

“It’s not that simple, William. A lot of these men are from duchies still under Edmund’s banner. We are going to ask them to fight against their nobles, potentially against their own kin. That is a lot to ask of any man. The men respect Rowan, but he agrees that they are loyal to you. He believes, and I agree with him, that we need you leading them if we’re going to make that happen.”