Chapter 25
Forge allies, make friends and keep the sun on your back.
Cedric invited me to the meeting with Baron this morning. The dregs of Death Dust cling to my head like tar but I managed to peel myself from the bed I somehow made it to. He must have slept elsewhere because the bed was only tussled on my side.
Nothing more happened beyond kissing and touching yet I feel his body’s absence terribly today.
Cedric flips a paper over and back again. As if he can’t comprehend what he is reading. I shift in the leather chair beneath me, waiting for the blow to hit.
“Baron, tell me this is an old report.”
“I wish I could. He’s building an army.” The young king runs a hand through his dirty blond locks. The same locks his wives threaded their hands through last night in front of everyone.
“How recent was this?” Cedric sinks into a chair, a map in his hands now. Dark masses dot the area.
Right behind the Rhydian Range.
And across the border from Krue.
“My men sent a missive this morning. So, likely from yesterday evening. Nothing from your scouts on this?”
Cedric shakes his head and rubs his chin. Sawyer would have mentioned this to Garreth or Cedric, surely. He would have noticed this. His job is to manage the territory, which involves the division of troops stationed out there. How was this missed?
Baron pours an amber liquid into our glasses and pulls some more papers from his stack.
He hands another map to me and I take it tentatively, grateful to be included.
This one shows Gruyere’s northern coast, which primarily serves for trade since it is the closest thing to a warm water port they have.
Transport by land is hard in the alps, I imagine.
“Your scouts have spotted Duresden ships in the harbor?” Cedric muses. “But you two share a new trade agreement.” He takes a deep swig of the drink. Baron pours some more, face tight.
“No, my navy intercepted a warship manned with over one hundred soldiers wearing Duresden’s coat. When boarded and questioned by our captain, they claimed it was a ‘training exercise’, according to theirs. Apparently circumnavigating the continent is a yearly event.”
“No, it’s not.”
“No, it is not,” Baron repeats before drinking.
“Surely, you’ve contacted Rolan? How is your council advising on this?” I speak up now, my voice firmer than I anticipated.
“Rolan corroborated the explanation with deep apologies and a plan for punishing his crew. My council, on the other hand, believes a High Council meeting is the next course of action. On the hope that Duresden even shows up. You say during the attack in the forest, the men wore his coat of arms?”
My king nods, pushing pawns around to try to understand the strategy because there is none. “Rolan is attempting a pinch from north to south. Kilare and Hollisland also have reported no similar movements,” he explains.
Knee bouncing, Cedric cracks his neck to the right.
“My father and Rolan’s had disagreements about most everything.
Krue and the Rhydian mountain range historically were under Lux’s control since Martine formed the boundaries.
Even after the war, Rolan’s grandfather, in some disputable agreement, attempted to claim the region and nothing was done.
My father’s reign began, and he decided to take it back prior to my birth and since we have experienced more tension than ever.
To simply release Krue to Duresden would mean the murder of the human population and possibly the vampyr for treason or some other formulated reasons.
Yet, Rolan did not seem keen on a claiming campaign but the soldiers we encountered in the woods near Krue say otherwise. ”
The vision of Cedric impaling those soldiers and gutting them flashes in my brain.
He continues, softer this time. “We were just there and while tense, he wanted to ensure Elivienne was well. He’s been threatening the High Council for the last year.”
Baron furrows his brows. “Why would he do that? Surely not in retaliation?”
“Elivienne has been out of the public eye, as you know, and he was quite close with her in our formative years. Yet, I don’t believe it was retaliation.
We never approached the High Council officially with the proposal for universal feeder laws.
Now, I can’t imagine doing that without imminent battle. ”
I place the map down and take a sip of my drink. “Should I write a missive? Prove my health?”
“No, no. You are not the concern. Let’s avoid the High Council for now. Duresden shares a border with my kingdom, after all.” There can be no indication that Lux is starting the fight. This must be a misunderstanding. Perhaps Rolan believes we put his men to death simply for trespassing?
“So, this is motivated by land and what, concern for me?”
“From what we can glean,” Baron answers and swishes his glass around.
“Close the borders then. If war is approaching—”
“No. If you had any lingering knowledge—” Cedric looks to me and sees my defeat. “We have to be on the right side of history. We remain open for refugees but our allyship with Duresden is effectively over.”
With a somber seriousness laced in his voice, Baron speaks. “Ced, this is war. Are your armies readying?”
“Of course. But I wanted to avoid this,” he murmurs.
Baron crosses and rests his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know little of the past two years, but I do know that your love is fierce. Powerful. Just as is your love for Lux.” He looks to me and smiles. “But to keep this, all of it, you must defend it. Duresden already crossed a border.”
“Yes, and Rolan swore they were highwaymen who intercepted his soldiers, stole their uniforms, but that is unlikely…” I trail off, realizing how absurd this sounds. “That, I am sure of.”
Cedric acknowledges my statement with a nod. “I’ll get my legions dispatched immediately south to an outpost just outside of Krue for safe measure.”
Seated again, Baron places his hands under his chin as he deliberates the plan. Gruyere is an ally, as were all of the kingdoms on the continent. But his kingdom is smaller and less equipped to ally for a battle.
“Rolan has always been,” Baron pauses, thinking about his words, “sensitive.”
“If that’s what you would call him.”
They know him. Or knew him.