A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3)

Chapter Fourteen

Tandrin, with a large escort of guards, met us in the port. He looked scruffy—his hair messy and his beard no longer neatly trimmed. His clothes were coated in dust, stained by sweat and blood. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his right forearm, and his left hand. He looked exhausted, but relieved, and his face lit up when he saw Tannix step onto the gangway.

As soon as Tannix was standing on the dock, the brothers hugged. When they broke apart, Tandrin's face split into a grin and he gestured at the ruined city behind him.

"Welcome to East Draulin! All things considered, little brother, this is going well."

"For now," Tannix agreed.

"A promising start," Tandrin said. "Of course, we were only driving them out of our land. Once we move into the desert, we'll have more trouble. But let's not discuss what comes next. We need a break." He looked over Tannix's shoulder, to where the knights and I had gathered. "Gentlemen, you all look well. Nothing too serious. Finagale, what happened to your cheek?"

I resisted the urge to touch it. I had wiped the cut clean, but there hadn't been time to really inspect it. "I think a piece of wood flew past me."

"We'll get you cleaned up at the castle," Tandrin said. "Come, little brother." He draped an arm over Tannix's shoulders and led him towards East Draulin's marketplace. His knights and ours fell into step around the pair, while I tried to stay close enough to eavesdrop. Tandrin spent most of the walk filling Tannix in on things that had happened during the army's march up the coast. It was in no way a formal report. He skirted over hardships and losses to describe impressive things the army had done, or brag about his own actions. I half listened to him, while my eyes roamed the city.

It was only my second time in East Draulin. The first time we had been sneaking through a newly occupied city, looking for survivors to rescue. Now, we walked along the streets boldly, as victors. The city was full of people, but it felt eerily empty. Almost everyone we passed by was a soldier or a sailor. There were no ordinary people who would normally fill the streets.

The victory was so new that there hadn't been time to start cleaning up the city. There were still scattered ruins and burnt husks of buildings from the Deorans' first attack. A few times, we passed by soldiers herding Deoran prisoners. I found myself wondering what would happen to them, and the Deoran sailors we had fished out of the water.

Compared to the rest of the city, the castle grounds were crowded. A city of tents had already popped up. Most of the army was still camped outside East Draulin's walls, so I imagined these must be higher ranking lords and advisors who were travelling with the army, as well as their guards. Across the field, there was a section of tents topped by Navirian flags.

Mayah was waiting for us at the castle gates. I knew she had been traveling with the army, but I hadn't expected to see her so soon. Instead of a dress, she was wearing pants and a tunic, cinched at the waist with a wide belt. Both the tunic and belt had distinctly Navirian patterns. Behind her, Kel Angelys stood with her arms crossed, the handles of her kukri knives poking over her shoulders.

As well as apparently deciding to do away with proper Telt lady's attire, Mayah decided to do away with proper protocols. She stepped forward and hugged Tannix. Then she moved through us, giving every single knight a flash of her beautiful smile and a hug. She hugged me last, before returning to the front of the group.

"Queen Avaloni is waiting in the throne room," she said. "We'll eat and talk. The serious conversations can wait until tomorrow. I'm sure you're all famished, so, let's go see what the cooks have managed to put together." She whirled around and everyone moved to follow her.