The invaders tried to sneak back into their camp under the cover of darkness, but Kelsey was ready for them. She’d rigged up a larger version of the light she’d used back in the Hungry Depths. This one was powered by a long cable that ran into the ground and was even more powerful.

  While Anton had slept, she’d waited for the first soldiers to creep back to see if there was anything left in the camp. It would normally have been a reasonable gamble. Nightsight was a common trait in soldiers, but it didn’t see that far. Tyla’s racial ability could see them easily, but not many armies in Zamarra boasted an elf among their numbers.

  Kelsey could see them just fine, though, and when she flicked the switch, so could everyone else. She laughed about it at breakfast.

  “They just froze, like little mice!” she chortled, helping herself to some bread and cheese. “Then they scurried away in all directions—your soldiers didn’t have the heart to shoot at them, they looked so pathetic!”

  Anton frowned. This wasn’t good news. He’d hoped that the Lancers and their accompanying mercenaries would retreat back into friendly territory. If they were staying, they’d need food. And if they’d already picked the villages clean east of here…

  He mulled it over until he could discuss it with Captain Rynmos, his chief military advisor.

  “Aye, if they’re stuck on staying in the area and they can’t go east, then they’ll have to go north or west,” the man agreed. “The villages will have buttoned up as much as they can, but they can’t keep a force of that size out.”

  “We thought they wouldn’t do that because it would leave them vulnerable for us to cut off their escape,” Anton said.

  Anton’s forces were garrison troops, but they could march if they had to. There was no road to the north, only cart-trails that led to a few villages. They might keep the Lancers fed for a while, but they’d be trapped against rugged hills. West, of course, only led deeper into the Duchy.

  “They must be more desperate than we thought,” Rynmos suggested.

  “Or…” Anton mused, “They want to prevent us from sending the Princess to Tarazin.”

  “Ah, well, we got the boat if that’s the case, don’t we?”

  Anton nodded. There was no direct route by sea or river to Tarazin, but the Whiskerwind could sail past any land blockade and carry a party that continued on by foot. But if there was a blockade… Anton groaned at the sudden realisation.

  “If they’re blockading us, we won’t get news of the battle, and I won’t know if it’s safe to send the Princess.”

  “Ah,” Rynmos said non-committedly. “That’s a problem.”

  “We’ll have to drive them out… somehow,” Anton decided. “First off, let’s find out where they are. Get some of your scouts who know the land. Tyla has good woodcraft, and Zaphar has good stealth. We’ll send them out and see what they can find out.”

  “As you say, sir, I’ll have them ready to go in an hour.”

  Anton smiled at the man’s firm determination. Most of the townsfolk were a little too nervous to talk to Tyla, but the captain was made of sterner stuff. Zaphar would be easier. While the town had no love for Elitrans, Zaphar’s character was vouched for by all the daughters he had helped return. Like Soraya, he had been adopted by the town.

  “I’ll speak to them before they leave. Make sure that—”

  Anton was interrupted by yet more news.

  “Word from the tower, my lord. They’ve spotted a Tiatian fleet.”

  “A Tiatian ship?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Those sure are a lot of Tiatian ships,” Kelsey said, handing the telescope to Suliel. Anton had relocated to the sea tower and taken Aris, Suliel, Kelsey and Elara with him. He’d left Rymnos to coordinate the scouting expedition, which still needed to happen, despite… whatever this was.

  They’d had time to gather. The fleet hadn’t moved since it was spotted.

  “That certainly is a large number of troops,” Suliel corrected, her voice grim.

  “If it’s an average of twenty per ship, and there are fifty ships out there, it comes to a thousand troops,” Kelsey agreed, not bothering with her sheet of paper trick.

  “More than enough to overwhelm us,” Suliel said.

  “Eh, between the cannon and the Whiskerwind, we can turn this bay into a graveyard,” Kelsey promised. “I wonder if I can claim the corpses before the fish get ‘em?”

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  “They won’t land here,” Suliel explained. “They’ll land at the same beach the Elitrans did and march the rest of the way.”

  “Okay,” Kelsey allowed, “But I can set up another decksweeper on the walls, and we can—”

  “A thousand men, Kelsey! Maybe more! Can you stop them all?”

  Kelsey’s grin faded at Suliel's outburst.

  “It’s no sure thing,” she admitted. “I like our odds, but they’ve got tricks we haven’t seen yet. I do too, but…”

  “We need more than odds! My people’s lives are on the line here!”

  “Well, Anton’s the one who breaks the odds,” Kelsey said. “With him around, there’s no way we can lose.”

  “We’ll get through this, Suliel,” Anton promised. He wrapped her in his arms and drew her close.

  “This is the raid all over again,” she said, leaning into him. “I can’t… watch that again.”

  “I’m sorry,” Princess Elara put in. “I don’t understand how… but this is all my fault.”

  “How do you figure that?” Aris asked curiously.

  “I don’t know how they found me,” Elara said, “But I’m sure they're here to take me away.”

  “That just makes it harder for them!” Kelsey said. “If they have to handle us with kid gloves, we can mow them all down without any retaliation when they come to talk!”

  “Let’s… not attack a flag of truce if they offer one,” Anton said firmly. “I may not be much of a noble, but I know that one.”

  “How did they figure out that Elara is here?” Aris wondered.

  “Spies,” Suliel answered, still pressed against Anton. “King Kalond knows she’s here, and the Tiatians have spies in his court. All that’s needed is some kind of magical communication.”

  Elara nodded. “They have that, it is common in embassies,” she said. “And fleets. But they must have sent this force long before I ran away.”

  “You said they were preparing for annexation,” Suliel said. “They must have had this ready, waiting for the right time.”

  “Yes,” Elara agreed. “They were probably well-informed of the state of the rebellion and realised a critical vulnerability was about to be revealed.”

  She looked glumly at the ground below. “Even without me as a figurehead, they might well be able to conquer the county.”

  “Now hold on,” Kelsey interjected. “This fleet might be enough to take Kirido, but it’s far short of what’s needed to take the country.”

  “That’s true,” Suliel agreed. “The rest of their force must be elsewhere.”

  “Or still on its way,” Anton pointed out. “Maybe that’s why they haven’t moved.”

  “Um, about that,” Aris said. She had been taking her turn on the telescope, but now turned to face them. “There’s movement.”

  A single ship had detached from the main group and was slowly headed towards them.

  It sparked a flurry of activity. Orders were given, servants rushed to and fro, and the whole castle bustled with activity. Everyone understood that a single ship arriving meant that the Tiatians were starting with diplomacy. And that meant that people had to be dressed.

  “Tell me what I can expect,” Anton asked Elara, in the scant moments before she was whisked away. “Who is going to be on that ship?”

  “One of my brothers-in-law, almost certainly,” Elara said. “Probably Mazir Jiro. He will—” she swallowed, “—have a Tier Four with him as a bodyguard. The fleet will have a Tier Four Admiral, but if this isn’t the main force…”

  “Got it,” Anton said. “What else?”

  “Wizards, at least one or two,” Elara said. Then the maids dragged her off.

  Anton grimaced and tagged a running messenger to find Tyla and get her into her fanciest robe. He could only hope that she hadn’t left on her scouting mission.

  “Whadda ya think, Anton? Should I go with Arena-pop formal, or Stadium-rock feral?”

  Anton looked at Kelsey and saw black leather pulled too tightly against her skin to look comfortable. It was scarred and polished in equal measure, as though it had survived fights it was meant to win. Metal glinted at the wrists, the belt, the collar—studs and buckles that announced that the wearer did not intend to be ignored. The shirt, if it could be called that, is partly undone, exposing Kelsey’s violently pale skin in a way that felt like a deliberate provocation.

  Nothing about it read as ceremonial or martial, yet it carried the same sense of controlled aggression as a drawn blade.

  “You should wear the other one,” he said quickly, and hurried off to change his own clothes.

  Anton had elected to have the Whiskerwind stand off the pier, leaving it clear for the Tiatian’s arrival. There was plenty of room in the harbour for the sleek, military ship to slip by, and it gave him the option of cutting off the diplomat’s escape route.

  If that should prove necessary.

  He was flanked on either side by Suliel and Elara. Kelsey was standing next to Suliel, wearing something other than the nakedly aggressive outfit she had shown him. Anton wasn’t sure if it was an improvement—the cloth glistened in ways that he wasn’t comfortable with—but at least it wasn’t a sartorial threat.

  Suliel was wearing one of her new, severe dresses. Anton preferred it when she dressed more colourfully, but he had to admit it was suited for a tense diplomatic exchange.

  Elara, unfortunately, had arrived without any luggage and had been forced to make do with a hastily altered dress that had belonged to Suliel’s mother. Anton thought it looked fine enough, but his instincts were sorely lacking.

  Apparently.

  That left Anton, who was dressed—as Kelsey put it—for success. His new armour had a certain amount of style to it, but it was clearly made for protection rather than fashion.

  Unlike the previous ship to dock here, the Tiatians had not packed their deck with soldiers. If they had them, they were staying below. Powered by both sail and oars, the ship swung around as it approached, killing its speed and stowing its sail. The final approach was made backwards, with a lot of shouting at the oarsmen. It seemed to have an effect, with the ship coming to a stop with its stern just off the side of the pier. Sailors jumped to shore carrying ropes, which were tied to the nearby bollards.

  Only then was the back wall of the stern lowered, creating a gangplank, and revealing the passengers waiting to disembark. One of them immediately drew Anton’s eye.

  Samira bint Kareth, Level 42, Human, Lioness of Tiait, Hunter (broken) / Warrior of the Sands/Dune Skirmisher/Moon-Marked Fighter/Lioness of Tiait, S: 36 T: 39 A: 40 D: 32 P: 32 W: 30 C: 30

  He drew in a deep breath. While she out-levelled him considerably, he did have an advantage in some Abilities. He’d have to watch out for her Traits, though. Those last two Classes had to be Rare. At least.

  The other passenger was less intimidating. Elara had been right about who was coming.

  Mazir Jiro, Level 22, Human, Imperial Envoy, Blooded/Polished Courtier/Imperial Envoy, S: 9 T: 7 A: 12 D: 13 P: 24 W: 28 C: 36

  The prince had decent social Abilities, but his physical Abilities were well below par. Even if he did move like he knew how to use the light sword at his side.

  The prince took the lead, bounding down the gangplank.

  “Elara, my dear sister,” he said. “Good news! We’ve come to take you home.”