Of Blood And Fire by Ryan Cahill (best classic books of all time .txt) 📕

be moulded into a half-decent inquisitor. It was one of the few lines of work that catered to a short temper and a sadistic nature. The boy would fit in fine.

Farda let out a sigh of relief as he pulled on threads of Air. He slid his vambraces off and unfastened the buckles on his armour, then tossed them on top of his cloak, which lay neatly folded on the long couch at the end of the room. He sat down on the bed, closed his eyes, and emptied his lungs in one deep puff.

His fingers trailed down to the coin in his pocket, a habit that would never leave him.

“What are you doing here?” Farda sighed, opening his eyes again. The light from the fireplace had dimmed, shrouding the room in shadow.

“Not happy to see me?” the Fade hissed. It sat in one of the leather chairs by the fire, its light-drinking cloak draped over the chair’s leather arms.

“Just say what you have come to say.”

“The troops you requested have arrived, and the blockade has been set. Are you sure that Belduar is their destination?” There was a twist of irritation in the Fade’s voice.

“No,” Farda said, standing up from the bed. He could see the Fade more clearly now. Its bone-white fingers were wrapped around the arm of the chair, and it stared into the roaring flames of the fireplace. The fireplace should have bathed the room in warm light, but instead, it barely gave off a glow. The Fade drank its light. As it always did. “But the ship we found them aboard at sea was Narvonan. And Arthur Bryne is the only one who would have the kind of gold needed to pay for a Narvonan vessel. It is the smart choice. Either way, we will need more troops in the South from now on.”

“We? I do not serve your emperor,” the Fade snarled.

“Do you not? Did you not just report to me like a little messenger boy?”

Farda didn’t see it move, but in a flash, the Fade stood in front of him, its eyes level with his. “I serve the one true god. As does your master. You would do well to remember that. I should teach you to remember.”

“Try it. I will rip you from that body.”

“You would die first.”

“I would welcome death.”

There was a silence as the Fade’s cavernous eyes stared into Farda’s.

“Do not fail,” it hissed before stepping away from Farda and moving towards the door. “I look forward to hearing your screams if you do.”

Farda dropped back down onto the bed. His heart beat with a slow, methodical thump. He did not lie; he would welcome death. But it was not his time to die. He lay back down into the bed, his finger falling back down to the coin in his pocket. “Fate is my only master.”

Looking out along the open plains of Illyanara, Ella was more than happy to finally be out of Camylin. The city was beautiful, but she couldn’t escape the sickly feeling that occupied the back of her mind every time she thought about the events of the night before. She shivered to think what might have happened if that stranger hadn’t shown up. It didn’t bear thinking about.

On top of that, there were riots in the city during the night as well. She awoke, well past the stroke of midnight, to men shouting and the ringing noise of swords colliding against one another. She wasn’t sure she liked cities. The fighting from the night before was all people were talking about in the markets that morning as well.

“Rebels looking to seize the keep,” she heard one woman whispering to another.

“No, no. Spies from Varsund, looking to steal correspondence from the High Lord,” the other woman said, with a sly wink and a nod. “My Tamwell knows a man who works in the blacksmith around the corner. He’s friends with a maid who serves under Lord Karnel, and she’s heard things.”

Whatever it was, Ella was overjoyed when Rhett told her that there was a merchant travelling to Midhaven who would take them in his cart for a reasonable fee.

She let out a deep breath of air and nestled herself back into Rhett’s chest. He smiled down at her, then turned his eyes back to the fading silhouette of the city, which had become barely a speck on the horizon. Ella closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as the cart bounced over a particularly rough patch of road. She was going to have a sore back by the time they got to Midhaven. She would be almost as happy to get out of the cart as she was to leave Camylin.

 

CHAPTER 21

A Change of Plans

“Well, this changes things,” Aeson said. The small dragon was still curled up in Calen’s lap. It twisted and turned as it slept, nuzzling its head into his leg. It was hard to believe that it could ever become anything like the creatures of legend. Calen had never seen one himself – the empire’s dragons hadn’t been seen south of the Darkwood since long before he was born – but it was said that they could grow as large as ships, with teeth as long and as sharp as swords. Their fire could burn entire cities to the ground and turn nations to dust. It was hard to see that in those curious, lavender eyes. It took a moment to register what Aeson had said.

“What do you mean?” Calen replied, looking up from the small creature slumbering in his lap.

“You cannot go chasing after your friend, Calen. Not now.”

“I—”

There was a firm, immovable look on Aeson’s face. “Calen, my sons and I risked our lives to bring that egg across the ocean from Valacia. That dragon – and now you – are more important than you may ever know. We need to get you to Belduar. It is the safest place