Total pages in book: 222
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 210715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1054(@200wpm)___ 843(@250wpm)___ 702(@300wpm)
“Good to know.” I tapped my fingertips on the table, thinking.
“What is it?” Reynald asked.
“Berengur is allied with Arvel.”
Doran Arvel, the head of the Arvel household and current Lord Commander of the Defender Order. Of all the Eight Families, the Arvels had the best reputation. Doran, in particular, was viewed as the kind of knight all others should aspire to be. Brave, honorable, a gifted general dedicated to his duty and devastating in battle. The main character to put all main characters to shame. The Golden Knight.
“And?”
“Shod, Berengur’s informant, works at the Three Moons. That tavern serves as the Shears’ headquarters.”
Reynald’s eyebrows rose. “Solentine supports Everard, but a Shears agent is feeding information to Arvel’s faction?”
I nodded. “Probably not exclusively to them, or Berengur wouldn’t have given him up so easily. Shod is moonlighting, and he isn’t choosy about who pays him.”
Solentine would lose his shit. Now I just had to figure out the right time and price to sell this juicy tidbit to him.
This wasn’t in the books. I had just gotten my first piece of real intel all on my own. Ha!
“What happens to Arvel in the future?” Reynald asked.
“I told you that the crown prince is assassinated. It happens during the Winter Hunt. The security for the Hunt will be provided by the Defender Knights. After the assassination, suspicion falls on Arvel, and he shuts himself and his knights within the Defender Citadel. Hreban decides against trying to take it.”
“A wise choice,” Reynald said.
The name of the order was a clue. Defender Knights specialized in defense. Once fortified in their stronghold, they were immovable. Especially while wrapped in the magic of Arvel’s Enduring Flame.
“Meanwhile, the city burns. Eventually Arvel and the entire Order ride out of Kair Toren, intending to rally and return. A tragedy happens, and someone close to Arvel is killed. When Arvel learns of it, he changes his mind and retreats to his territory instead. Sauven sends for him again and again, but Arvel never comes back to the capital.”
Reynald frowned. “He abandons the Savarics?”
“He does.”
“And Everard?”
“He leaves the city in the very beginning of the Kiel mess, before Hreban shuts the gates, and goes straight to Selva.”
They were always in opposition to each other, Everard and Arvel. Even their branding seemed to identify them as rivals: Everard’s crest of green, black, and silver, while Arvel’s colors were white, azure, and gold.
“Arvel always maintained that his loyalty was to the Throne and nothing could shake it,” I said. “As long as the Savarics held the Eagle Roost, he would heed their orders. Everard can’t even bother to pretend to care about anything except the Selva Dukedom. One is the renowned and honorable Golden Knight, the pillar of the realm, and the other is the heartless and cruel Sleepless Duke, a violent isolationist.”
Sauven had spent a good deal of his reign reinforcing that status quo. Which was why Arvel was celebrated in Kair Toren, and Everard was greeted with suspicion.
“I sense a but coming,” Reynald said.
“But when the Crimson Empire invades, they both react the same. The Empire crosses the eastern border in the north and the south.”
“A two-pronged assault.”
“Yes. Their northern offensive targets the lower Trihorn, bypassing Selva, so Everard could’ve just sat back and let them invade Rellas. Instead, the Sleepless Duke moves his forces and hits the invading army. He suffers great losses but halts the northern invasion. Meanwhile, Arvel disobeys a direct command from Sauven, breaks his oath of loyalty, marches across half of Rellas, and crashes into the legions from the south. It costs him a third of his army, but he fights the Empire to a stalemate.”
Reynald sighed. “It is as expected.”
“How so?”
“Everard was born to protect the Dukedom. It’s the purpose of his life. He carries responsibility for the lives of the people in his domain. If Rellas crumbled, the Dukedom would be next. He’s acting out of pure self-interest.”
“And Arvel?”
“Arvel has never failed. He’s admired and celebrated everywhere he goes. If all the adoration and praise were replaced with suspicion and accusations, he wouldn’t be able to deal with it. He would turn his back and retreat to a place where he would be beloved no matter what. But he is still a knight and a gifted commander. Arvel’s lands are in the Western Middle Fields. The advance of the Empire would pin him between the sea and the Copper Mountains to the south. He calculated the odds and decided fighting the battle in someone’s else backyard was better.”
I took a deep breath and blew the air out. We had to stop what was coming.
The private rooms on the third floor of Taryz were really nice.
A large solid table occupied the middle of the room. Its top resembled gold oak with a darker wood inlay sealed in several coats of resin. Reynald and I sat on one side of it in carved wooden chairs, facing a large window. Outside, the Virka flowed to the Dokkon under the evening sky. If I leaned all the way to the right, I could see our house on the other side.