The Lost Knight (Volume IV) The Lost Prince

Chapter 30: He, She, Fet

I startle awake as a pair of red eyes appear above me, disappear, then appear again. "You awake?" Jonah asks.

I sit up and rub the sleep from my lashes. "Yeah, when'd you get here?" I scan for Solara, who was supposed to have second watch. I woke her when my shift ended. She's sleeping now; everyone is sleeping.

"A few hours ago. I relieved Solara. She looked like she was going to collapse. How are you feeling?"

I relax and get to my feet. I'm not going back to sleep after that scare. "My leg is on fire, but it's just pain. Dathid sealed it up, but I overdid it yesterday, so it's going to make me pay today. Did you eat?"

"Yes. Solara said you killed a waserbee. Impressive."

"Thanks." It feels good that Jonah noticed, even though he doesn't believe in killing things. He knows I eat meat, and he appreciates the work I put into developing my skills. We sit on a log a short distance from the camp. I wrap my arm around his and ask, "What happened?"

"The Grucht Leisck laid siege to Cromsmead."

"So what happens now?"

"I scouted their forces. The vine lets them seal the castle quickly, but it takes time to remove enough of it to get their forces in. I only saw a few battalions, and they're a good distance away."

"Was there a plan after this?" I say with a wave at my sleeping friends.

"No, this was the plan for if there ever was a siege. Dathid was to get you, and we were to meet in the southwest tunnel and come here. We didn't plan on the Grahmthus vine." He shakes his head in a combination of disgust and revulsion. "It's going to take the elves generations to recover."

"Are the elves going to be okay? Are they going to starve and stuff?" I wish I knew more about sieges, but I'm limited to what I read in novels. I remember one character died of disease and a few starved, but I don't know how long they lasted or how it ended.

"Yes, the elves will survive. The Grucht Leisck hasn't conquered this part of the world because these people have been at war for generations. They're highly skilled in battle, which is probably why Ziras, or more likely Duradin, opted for the Grahmthus vine. Other Elven reinforcements will probably arrive before the first platoon hits the gate."

I fall into silence. The war just got very real. I know it's been going on for years, but now they're in my home. Soldiers with guns and bombs, or arrows and magic, or whatever they use to take a castle. My fingers go numb and ball into a fist. I can't get enough air. I jump to my feet and start pacing. Jonah reaches for me, but I don't want to be touched.

War. The war. The war I was brought here to stop. It's here, at my door. No one believes I can kill our dinner. How am I supposed to stop an immortal War Lord who's taken over an entire planet? 

"Agatha, can you hear me?" Jonah asks in a way that makes me believe he might have asked it a few times. War. I have to fight a war. "Agatha, can you hear me?"

"Yes! Shut up. How am I going to battle battalions and vines and arrows and..." I stop because that took too much air. The images in my brain are flashing so fast I can't keep up. There's too much. This is too much. 

"Agatha. Listen." How can Jonah be so calm? He's a peaceful creature that has to stand beside me while I put my swords in people. "You are not allowed to fight in the war."

That stings so bad it stops me in my tracks. "What do you mean? What has this all been about? What was all that training for?"

"Finding the key." He says it so calmly I want to slap him. I start pacing, but slower this time. My lungs seem to be functioning normally, but my brain won't stop repeating, find the key, find the key...