A clap of thunder signaled their arrival to the capitol. As they approached Darluth, Tammer instructed the Kingsguard to slow to a walk. They didn’t want to cause a panic when they entered the city. Captain Tammer pulled his soaked horse alongside the carriage window to speak to the princess.

  “Your highness, when we enter the city, it’ll be best to appear as calm as possible,” he said. His voice was steady, but his hands were anything but. Her eyes were wide, but she nodded. “We will take you straight to the castle. I’m sure Linford sent a bird ahead of us so your father will be aware of the situation, but you will need to go to your mother’s chambers.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  Tammer nodded and resumed his place at the fore of the troop. He focused on slowing his breathing, but his eyes didn’t stay still; could the Abyss have allies here, too? Would they try to attack the royal family to get to the One Fire? Anyone could be working for the Abyss. It had already taken a civilian and one of his men - he was not so foolish to think that Gentren could come back from such a wound. If he hadn’t bled to death by now, they would need to amputate, and then it was a question as to whether blood loss or infection would claim him. For the tenth time since they left, Tammer forced the bile back down his throat and the tears away. He was the captain of the second section of the Kingsguard - he had to be strong.

  Still, a tiny part of him clung to the hope that Gentren would pull through. He could make it, couldn’t he? Things would be different, but he’d be alive.

  Tammer still had the note balled in his fist, a heavy, burning weight; the arrow was hastily tied to his scabbard. Each time his horse cycled through its gait, the arrow bounced against his thigh, reminding him that those three young girls started off the day with high hopes and expectations of a lighthearted trip to the Linford shops with their beloved father.

  The walk to the castle had never felt longer. As he expected, Tammer’s superior was waiting for them at the base of the front steps. Lieutenant Colonel Cadimus stood tall and stiff, his usually grim face even darker than normal.

  When the carriage was as close to the castle entrance as was possible, Tammer called a halt and the guard dismounted from their horses. The lieutenant colonel opened the carriage door himself and offered a hand to Princess Halia. “Your highness,” he said in a surprisingly soft voice, “welcome home. Your mother awaits you in her rooms. Please, I will have the guard escort you.”

  She nodded and the rest of the guard formed up around her and proceeded up the stairs. Tammer held back, giving the reins of his mount to a stable boy and snapping to attention. Cadimus waited until the princess was out of sight before he addressed Tammer. “Captain,” he said.

  “Lieutenant Colonel, sir.”

  “Follow me.”

  The two men set off at a brisk pace to a small iron door on the left side of the castle. It was unlocked in anticipation of the guard’s arrival, but normally it was kept securely locked. Cadimus slid the top and bottom bolts into place and the narrow corridor was thrown into blackness. Tammer blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit passageway. This corridor led directly to the war chamber and through there, the king’s throne room. In times of war or whenever some great news needed to be given to the king, the message went through this secure hallway. Tammer had only ever been told what this corridor was; he never expected to ever walk through it himself.

  “What is your report, Captain?”

  “Gentren’s wounded,” he said. He shook his head, once again fighting the urge to be sick. “He’s...we left him - I left him - in Linford. He’s probably…” Tammer took a deep breath. “His wound is too severe for him to continue his service.”

  Cadimus sighed, but nodded. “A damn shame. Gentren’s a good man.”

  “A civilian was killed.”

  “Linford told me. The man’s originally from Stread. They are sending a man with a letter to his family there.” Cadimus shot Tammer a sideways look. “Tell me what Captain.”

  The meaning was clear. Tammer stiffened his spine; he needed to act like a captain. Tammer handed the note to him. “We were unaware that Linford had been placed under medium security,” he said as they set off. Their footsteps reverberated metallically against the stone. “There was a checkpoint at the front gate.”

  “Linford didn’t inform us that there would be any uptick in security,” Cadimus said, scowling. “That should have been reported to us straight away; we never would have sent the princess there if we had known.”

  “I spoke to Sergeant Tocks. He didn’t have any hard information about why they needed to do so, but he spoke of rumors that had been circulating.”

  “I can’t approach the king with rumors, Tammer.”

  “I don’t know what to make of them myself, sir. People are going missing, wolves are howling right outside town, a suspicious person wandering around the walls, but there was nothing definitive. The Hearth has been telling the public that they’re being superstitious, but Tocks seems to think that it was the Hearth themselves who requested the increase.”

  “Since when has the Hearth had the authority to order that?” Cadimus demanded. “We don’t answer to the .”

  Tammer pressed on. “The streets of Linford were unusually quiet,” he said. “Only tourists, no residents, but nothing immediately concerning, and we were assured that it was safe for the princess. On our way out of town, though, a black arrow...the civilian was shot.” He withdrew the arrow and presented it to the lieutenant colonel, who eyed it warily. “The note was pierced on it, and not a moment later, the gilded flame came toppling from the spire. It would have crushed me if my men hadn’t been so diligent. Gentren dodged, too, but he was not quick enough.”

  Cadimus stepped into the empty war chamber to get a better look at the arrow. He ran his fingers up the shaft and through the fletch, tapping his fingers on the iron tip of the head. “I don’t recognize this make,” he muttered. Tammer gulped. Lieutenant Colonel Cadimus was a master of arms; he snuck across the border in his youth to travel the world and fought as a mercenary in his youth in many wars. It was rare that he couldn’t place the origin of any sort of weapon.

  Cadimus turned his attention to the letter. His face paled as he read it. “The king awaits us,” he said sharply. “Come.”

  Tammer hastily followed, his teeth chattering as he tried to contain his nerves and steel his resolve. He had never anticipated any one on one audience with the king at any point in his career - save for if he won the games. Though they were going to speak with him about grave news, Tammer couldn’t help but feel a spark of the naive farm boy that he used to be, back in a time when he fell asleep at night to dreams of kneeling before the king to be knighted.

  The throne room consisted of tall gray marble columns and a parquet floor. The room was as large as the courtyard outside, designed to hold a large crowd that needed their trespasses answered. Light spilled down from a stained glass mosaic, an ancient scene depicting the Ashen Priests finding the One Fire and anointing Castor Regium as the first king of Alfreyad. The mosaic was truly a masterpiece. The luminescent priests lifting up the One Fire, a brilliant white tinged with the brightest orange, an ember descending to grace the forehead of Castor Regium, kneeling in piety. The colors cast a warm light throughout the throne room, though their footsteps echoed cooly around them.

  The king paced in front of the mahogany throne. The Eternal Sapphire gleamed in its simple platinum setting on his brow, his purple robes whispering against the floor as he strode. His Royal Majesty Daern Regium Ashfall was a stoic man; this was the most agitated Tammer had ever seen him, but he couldn’t fault him.

  The king didn’t acknowledge their presence until Cadimus bowed, saluted, and said, “Your Majesty.”

  “My daughter is safe?”

  “She is, sire,” Cadimus said. “She arrived without a scratch and is currently with the queen.”

  “Good.” The king stopped his pacing and sat on the throne. He raised an eyebrow at Tammer. “Why is the captain here? I imagine he has already reported everything I need to know.”

  Tammer bit his cheek, but otherwise didn’t react. “I brought Captain Tammer in case you had further questions for him, sire,” Cadimus said. He strode forward, presenting the note and the arrow. “He also brought this.” The king cautiously took both and then Cadimus repeated Tammer’s report to him.

  Afterwards, King Daern read the note. “The Hearth,” he spat, crumpling the note and tossing it aside. “Now I have to fix their mess, as usual.”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Neither Tammer nor Cadimus responded. Tammer couldn’t speak for his lieutenant colonel, but he was dumbfounded by the king’s outburst.

  King Daern turned his attention to the arrow. “I have never seen something like this before,” he said. “Lieutenant Colonel?”

  Cadimus shook his head. “Nor have I, sire.”

  “.” The king rubbed the bridge of his nose and handed the arrow back to Cadimus. “Take this to the vault. I will have the archivists look to see if we can find anything of its make in the annals.”

  “Of course, sire,” Cadimus said, handling the arrow gingerly. “In the meantime, what are our orders?”

  King Daern sighed. “I have no orders until we know more. I’m certain Stafford will demand an audience soon,” he said darkly. Tammer surmised that he was referring to Highest Priest Stafford, head of the whole Eternal Hearth. “Until I know more, there is no use in worrying the people. Everything will continue as normal.”

  “Including the games next week, sire?”

  “Yes,” the king said. “This...courteous note...mentions the wolves. The ‘lupine dear ones.’ At the very least, I now have an answer as to why the wolves have been so aggressive lately. We will give orders to the rangers; they are to start culling the wolves immediately.”

  ...god, what Tammer wouldn’t give to be one of them…

  Cadimus bowed. “As you wish, sire.” Tammer waited for him to say something, anything, about the second section joining the hunt. Gentren was their man, and since the wolves were part of the abomination’s plan, it was only right that Tammer and his platoon got to assist.

  But the lieutenant said nothing. The king raised a hand in dismissal, and Cadimus and Tammer both left the throne room through the door they had entered.

  “I suppose you weren’t needed after all,” Cadimus said once they were back in the dim passageway. “I rather regret bringing you, to be honest. If you weren’t there, I’m sure the king would have been more candid.”

  Tammer frowned, but let it slide. “It’s blasphemy to speak ill of the Hearth,” he said, being careful not to sound accusatory. “Is that common for him, sir?”

  “I don’t know too much about it, Captain,” Cadimus said pointedly. “And you know nothing of it, either. Understood?”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “Good. The rest of your platoon is stationed outside the queen’s quarters, unless Princess Halia has gone elsewhere. Return to them and proceed as normal.”

  “Sir, before I go…”

  “Speak.”

  Tammer clenched and unclenched his fists. “The states that should a man be incapacitated in a martial incident, the company he belonged to has an honor right and duty to participate in any efforts ordered to right the wrong,” he said. The book he referred to was suggested reading for new recruits to the Kingsguard. Written in Alfreyad’s early days, it laid out the codes the Alfreyadan military should follow, not as a matter of law, but as a matter of decency.

  “

  is only a moral guideline, Tammer,” Cadimus said, frowning at him. “The king’s rule is law.”

  “But Gentren is our man. My best friend! We should be allowed to assist.”

  “Revenge has no place in the army, nor in the Kingsguard,” Cadimus said, his words measured. “Your duty is to protect the royal family Which means you stay by their side as directed. Is that clear?”

  He took a deep breath and forced himself to look into his commander’s eyes. “Yes, sir.”

  Tammer blinked as Cadimus opened the iron door.

  “And Tammer?”

  “Sir?”

  Cadimus’s face softened just a little. “Gentren knew what his service could mean. We all do; it’s part of the oaths we take.”

  Tammer scowled. “That is true sir, but I am the first captain in the last century to have a man so horribly wounded in the line of duty. It was my job to protect him.”

  “I’ve lost men before,” Cadimus said. “In other countries. Be grateful that there is still a chance that Gentren can continue to live. And if he does, he will live as a hero. We are entering uncertain times, lad. None of us can crumble at the starting gate.”

  Tammer looked down at the ground. “Yes, sir.”

  Cadimus nodded and strode away while Tammer hurried up the front stairs into the castle.

  Inside, Tammer’s footfalls were muffled by the opulent carpets. He passed sculptures and paintings, works of great mastery, but he ignored them all as he tried to sift through what had happened that day.

  The Abyss...the Abyss was in Alfreyad. How long had it been here? As long as the wolf problem had been going on, perhaps, but today was its first attack out in the open and it had already killed one man and crippled another. And that was just it delivering a message.

  Was the person he saw in the belfry of the spire Abyss, or was it a lackey? It had to be a lackey; according to the priests and the Book of Flame, the Abyss was weakened by light, so much so that it’s forced to hide in shadows and the deep, dark places of the world. There was no way it would show itself in the middle of the day.

  Tammer clenched his fist so hard that if he hadn’t been wearing his gauntlets he would have pierced the skin on his palm. If he could go back, he would have chased that man down and taken his head. At least then he could bring that back to the king as a trophy.

  But still..the Abyss was . What did that mean for the world? Not just Alfreyad, but everywhere. Even among foreign countries that didn’t follow the Eternal Hearth, the Abyss was still the despicable Other in their theologies. At least, that’s what he had heard. The king would have to warn them. But would he? Alfreyad rarely spoke to its neighbors and it was with great reluctance that it participated in any sort of foreign relations. It was a careful design; for centuries Alfreyad had remained aloof in the global diplomatic theater. Any information that did go beyond the borders was carefully cultivated to show that Alfreyad was not a threat to anyone so as not to appear enticing to an outside power. This ensured the safety and secrecy of the One Fire.

  But if the Abyss

  back, then Alfreyad had a responsibility to raise the alarm. They

  to. The Abyss has already made its claim to the One Fire and that was a much more dangerous enemy than any foreign invader. If the stories told in the Book of Flame were only a fraction of what the Abyss could do…

  Tammer shuddered.

  If the Abyss truly was back, he thought to himself as he ascended the stairs towards the queen’s quarters, then it would be the Eternal Hearth that would lead the resistance. The king’s job was to protect his people against worldly threats, but the Eternal Hearth held sway over every Alfreyadan soul. They were sworn enemies of the Abyss, Knights of the Light, and once the country learned what had happened, they would turn to the Eternal Hearth for guidance and safety. It was their duty, one that they swore whenever they took up the mantle. So why then was the king so...angry? The Eternal Hearth were the ones who anointed him as king; without them, he would be no one. In return, he was to protect them and foster them to the best of his ability. But instead, he cursed them.

  Tammer found his platoon at attention outside the queen’s quarters, just as Cadimus had said. They were sprinkled in among the queen’s own retinue, the tenth section, men and women Tammer knew by sight but had rarely spoken to. The second section stood stiffly, their faces dark, while the tenth section were more lax and simply looked confused. Through the tall heavy door that led to the queen’s chambers, they all could hear Princess Halia’s sobs, though her words were unintelligible.

  The captain of the tenth section, a short woman named Stae, met Tammer and gave him a reluctant salute. “Captain,” she said, voice flat. “Care to tell me what’s going on here? Your men won’t tell us anything, and the princess has been caterwauling for the better part of an hour. If my numbers are right today, you’re short a man. What’s happened?”

  “We had a bit of a scare on her trip today,” Tammer said, keeping his voice level. He wasn’t technically lying. “We’re all just a bit shaken up, is all.”

  Stae glared at him, dropping the facade of professionalism. “Bullshit,” she said. “You better tell me the truth, Farmersson.”

  Tammer felt the heat rising in his cheeks and his ears started ringing. called him “Farmersson” while he was on duty; he barely tolerated it while he was off duty. He was not a farm boy - he was a captain of the Kingsguard, and today, of all days, was not a good day to fuck with him. “You are crossing lines, Captain,” he said, spitting out her rank like it was sour tobacco. “I don’t answer to you, and if you try to smear my honor by calling me a liar, then you better be ready to hold fast to it.”

  He was a head taller than Captain Stae, but she had never been intimidated by anyone else. The look he gave her could have withered fields of grain, but it only made her more defiant. “I’ll call anyone a liar who expects me to swallow a sack of shit,” she hissed. “Get over yourself, . You’re not some hero, you’re not a big shot in the king’s entourage. You’re just a captain in the useless-as-fuck Kingsguard. There’s nothing special about you or this job, so stop acting like you are so much higher than the rest of us. You think withholding information from the other sections makes you look good?” Stae spat on the ground at Tammer’s feet. “You’re so far up your own ass you can see the sunlight again. Prick.”

  It was a testament to their dedication that the second section maintained their positions. If Stae had come for him like that in the mess hall, Liesl would have been on top of her ripping her hair out with her bare hands while Taryn and Ferg held her down and broke her fingers. “If I don’t share specifics with you,” Tammer said coldly, slowly, loudly, “then it is for specific reasons. Reasons that do not necessarily come from me.” He took a step closer to her so that she had to look up his nose to meet his eyes. “But if the decision were mine,” he said, switching to a whisper and eyeing the fly that crawled around Stae’s hair, “then the only thing I’d tell you is to go back to the sty and fuck the other pigs.” Tammer pushed past her, knocking hard into her shoulder. The fly buzzed away to a far wall.

  Stae looked like she had much more to say, but Tammer took his position with his men. Her hands were shaking and she cursed loudly before taking her place back with her own platoon. Tammer’s gaze flicked towards his troops. All of them were chewing on the inside of their cheeks and wringing their lances in their hands, raw fury radiating from each one. Ferg locked eyes with him. He raised an eyebrow, but Tammer just shook his head. He would fill them all in later.