CHAPTER 9 Torj
CHAPTER 9
Torj
‘My blood, my steel, are yours. I vow that in the end of days, I will answer the call’
– Warsword oath to the Furies upon the Great Rite
Two years ago
T ORJ SAT ACROSS from Edmund Riverton in the prison carriage, the rhythmic clatter of hooves against cobblestones filling the silence between them. Weeks had passed since he’d thwarted Wren’s assassination attempt on the nobleman, and the satisfaction of that victory still lingered.
Her mark sat whole and unharmed before him, on his way to face trial for his crimes. At last, Torj’s work had earned him the post he’d coveted for years – a permanent position beyond the midrealms, far from the shadows of his past.
Wilder and Thea had asked him not to go, arguing that there was still much to be done in the wake of the war, that the remaining kingdoms still needed him. But Torj was weary. He wanted to see what realms afar had to offer. Tales of otherworldly magic, of cyrens and sea drakes, fascinated him. He’d even heard rumours of immortals with eternal youth and pointed ears...All of it had him yearning for a different kind of adventure.
After all this time, it was finally within his grasp. He only had to deliver Edmund Riverton to his justice.
The carriage lurched over a pothole and Riverton’s face paled as they drew closer to the heart of Harenth’s capital city, where his fate would be decided. While the infamous Scarlet Tower had been destroyed, a new prison had been built in its place to hold those who had committed war crimes, and it would likely house one more inmate by the end of the week. As such, Torj couldn’t quite blame his captive for blanching.
But as he watched Riverton, a sense of unease crept over him. It wasn’t just that the nobleman’s face had lost its colour; his breathing was now laboured.
Suddenly, Riverton lurched forwards, his bound hands clawing at his throat as he gasped for air.
‘Guards!’ Torj shouted, surging to his feet and bashing a fist against the window.
Riverton collapsed, his body convulsing on the floor.
The carriage ground to a halt. Its door flung open as the guards rushed to investigate.
‘Get a healer!’ someone called.
A sickening feeling of dread settled at the pit of Torj’s stomach as he knelt beside Riverton, watching his body twitch in familiar spasms. Commotion sounded on the streets outside, but Torj didn’t look away as his prisoner’s seizures slowly stilled, a vacant expression frozen on his face.
Reaching out, Torj searched for a pulse, but found none.
Edmund Riverton was dead.
And it was only then that Torj noticed the family crest pendant the prisoner had worn since his rescue was gone. How long had it been missing?
A shout of fury left Torj’s lips, and he sent his clenched fist flying into the back of the carriage seat. The upholstery split, its stuffing spilling out, feathers floating down onto Riverton’s lifeless body.
Wren.
Audra looked up at Torj from behind her desk, no doubt marking the rage that darkened his expression.
‘Riverton’s dead,’ he told her flatly. ‘Poisoned on the way to his trial.’
The Guild Master dropped her quill, outrage flashing in her eyes. ‘What?’
Torj didn’t repeat himself; he simply waited for the inevitable.
‘How did you let this happen?’ Audra demanded, getting to her feet. ‘How could this happen?’
‘Wren.’
‘I thought you handled her months ago.’
‘I did,’ Torj said, fighting to keep his cool. ‘I stopped her assassination attempt. I took Riverton into custody. She must have found a way to get to him under our protection.’
Audra was shaking her head in disbelief. ‘There were no disturbances reported? Nothing out of the ordinary?’
‘No.’
Torj watched her pace across her study, her spectacles low on her nose, her brow furrowed.
‘This is a disaster,’ she muttered. ‘Did it occur to you that you might be blamed? Having been in the carriage with him when he died?’
It hadn’t. How could he have been so stupid, to think that he’d be above suspicion? The prisoner had died in his fucking arms.
‘Why have you allowed this to happen?’ The words burst angrily from his mouth. ‘Why has her poisoning been tolerated until now? You’ve clearly known what’s been going on.’
‘Because until now, Elwren’s actions, however vengeful, have aligned with the values of the guild. In many ways, she has done what we could not, without starting a civil war.’
‘And Riverton? What was so different about him? Why did you deem him worthy of your intervention?’
Audra’s expression hardened. ‘He had information we wanted. Information that died with him, thanks to you.’ She studied Torj with an unflinching, discerning gaze. ‘You know what this means...’
Torj had the sinking feeling that he did.
‘The offer of your post beyond the midrealms is rescinded. Immediately.’
Torj’s stomach bottomed out. ‘ Audra —’
She lifted a hand to silence him. ‘That predicament aside, the deal was that you deliver Riverton to his trial to face justice. You failed, Bear Slayer. I have no choice but to grant that post to someone else now.’
Torj opened his mouth to argue, to give voice to all the furious resentment bubbling to the surface, to rage against the injustice of it all. But instead, he pushed the loose hair from his brow and shook his head. ‘She’s a fucking lost cause.’
Audra’s eyes were still on him. ‘Perhaps.’
‘There’s no “perhaps” about it,’ he told her angrily, heading for the door.
Audra’s voice followed him. ‘Life has a way of coming back around on us, Torj. The wheels of fate are always turning, and sometimes, the people we least expect can be the ones to steer us back onto the right path...’
But with his dream of a post abroad shattered, and his Warsword reputation now at stake thanks to the Poisoner, Torj turned and fixed Audra with a cold, hard stare.
‘If I never see her again, it will be too soon.’