Page 37 of Sword & Sacrifice

“It was just a bit of wax, Gris,” Silas replied in exasperation. “I thought it was better to write to Adelaide first, see if it worked at all. Since Penn and Val haven’t contacted us, I wasn’t sure they still had the supplies to reply. It seemed like a safe gamble.” He just hadn’t expected Adelaide to be in some sort of trouble.

“Well, write to her again! Ask for some damn details this time!”

Silas took both his letter and Archer’s and scraped the wax off a second time. It crumbled to pieces in his hand, dry as dust. Frustrated, he wiped the wasted bits away and searched through the box for more magical missives. All the remaining letters were mundane or their wax seals had already been removed.

“All the wax is used up,” Silas said. “I’ll have to search the other boxes for some.” He grimaced at the wall of boxes, wondering how many he would have to sift through to find what he needed. What if he’d already used up the last of the wax?

“We don’t have time,” Archer said, his expression grave. “If I’m going to leave, we’ll need to make the arrangements now.”

“Leave? But—” You promised to stay. Silas couldn’t finish his protest. They always knew their current arrangement was temporary, that Archer had his own kingdom to rule. If Arnsveld was under threat, it was his responsibility to return home and protect his people. “How soon?”

Archer and Griselda exchanged a look. “How many?” she asked.

“A third.”

“Will that be enough?”

Archer’s jaw clenched. “I’ll make it enough.”

Silas looked between them, confused. “How many what?”

“Soldiers,” Griselda barked. “He’ll leave the majority here to protect Bellacosta and take the rest with him.”

“A third!” Silas echoed. “Archer, if your kingdom is under attack, you’ll need more—”

“We don’t know for sure that Arnsveld is under attack,” Archer said. “And I won’t leave you vulnerable.”

“If Adelaide is asking you to look after Emmaline, it could be the Witch herself who’s in trouble,” Griselda added. “Might have something to do with the rat bastard who sired Em.” She spat on the floor as if to clean his presence from her mouth.

“Emmaline’s father?” Silas asked. No one ever mentioned her father, but Silas had seen no traces of him in Adelaide’s cottage. “Who is he?”

“A mercenary. Not one I worked with personally, I was already out of the game before he came around,” Griselda explained, “but I know one man who did. You both do.”

Silas only knew one mercenary. “Do you mean Valerian?”

“Aye. Adelaide was looking for somewhere to test her healing skills, so I sent her his direction. Figured mages should stick together.” She rubbed her nose, as if she could smell their magic from just speaking of them. “If I’d known he was partnering with such an unsavory lot, I wouldn’t have ever mentioned his name.”

“What happened?”

“She came back changed. Em’s sunny disposition? Her mother used to shine twice as bright, could charm the gold from a miser. By the time she came of age, half the soldiers were in love with her. When she returned, she locked herself in her cottage, wouldn’t see anyone. Erected that barrier of hers to keep everyone out. Only reason we knew she was alive was because the grocer made weekly deliveries. It was almost two years before she started seeing patients again, this time with a toddler clinging to her hip.”

“And do you know who Emmaline’s father is?” After a pause, Silas asked, “Do we know it's not Valerian?”

Gris snorted. “I asked outright if it was him, she told me no. Only answer she’d give me. The rest of the time, it was like talking to a stone wall.”

“So how do you know he’s a ‘rat bastard’?”

Griselda locked eyes with him and asked, “You think she’d be running from him if he weren’t?”

“Good point. Do we know anything about him aside from the fact that he worked as a mercenary?”

She shook her head.

“We don’t know for sure he’s the problem,” Archer said. “The traitors are gathering at Sparrow Hill.”

Silas’ eyes widened at the town name. “You mean where Penn and Valerian were headed? Did they send you a message?” The fact Archer hadn’t shared this news with him until now stung. Silas knew Archer and Penn had been friends for decades, but he’d also grown close to the mouthy messenger and was concerned for his friend’s safety.

“No, we intercepted a message meant for some Bellacostan soldiers,” Archer explained. “Darian interpreted it as a call to move to Sparrow Hill. We aren’t sure if it’s from Niall or Varro.”