The Radiant War

Chapter 13c

     Lacurnia and their children were there waiting for him and the King gave them all a tremulous hug before pouring himself a glass of Kermot from the bottle he found in the wall cabinet. The alcohol calmed his nerves and he gave them all another hug, longer and warmer this time, before collapsing into an armchair. A precious few minutes of just being a husband and a father, he thought, before I go meet with Callum to talk about the city's food supply.

     “Ardria?” she asked.

     He shook his head, unable to meet her eyes. I should never have let her go, he thought. Worrying about her daughter almost killed the Queen once, and now it’s doing it again, but I had to let her go! The Queen is strong, as strong as I am. She knows the need. She knows why she went. If she hates me, its just a little bit.

     “I spoke with King Ponwell today, by telegraph,” she said, as if desperate to change the subject. “We talked about Lady Dwen.”

     “Telegraph? The telegraph lines have been cut, except the line with Carrow. Nilon wants me to be able to surrender to him when I inevitably come to my senses.”

     “The line to Gildon’s still intact too. They discovered it quite by accident while testing the lines to the artillery positions. I used my, well your, influence to send a message to Ponwell. I wanted to offer my condolences for Lady Dwen's death. Turns out he's angry about her death. She and the King were great friends, very close. He was angry with us at first. He blamed us, but apparently there’s too much evidence that the Radiants were responsible. He has his agents in the palace, reporting back to him, and they told him what really happened.”

     “Thank Those Above for foreign spies among us,” said Leothan with a tense smile. Prince Bowen jumped into his lap and he tickled him under the chin. “What does he intend to do with his anger?”

     “He asked what he could do to help fight the Radiants.”

     Leothan sat bolt upright in his chair and stared at her. “He did what?”

     “He wants to help fight the Radiants. I told him about the Ballistae, and what we're doing to make incendiary ammunition. I hope that was okay.”

     “Absolutely! He wants to help us fight the Radiants? Does he know the danger he’s putting his country in? If Carrow defeats us, that'll make Gildon their next target. The Radiants will insist they invade with whatever troops they can spare from occupying Helberion. Gildon barely has an army, just a few thousand troops. Nilon will only have to scrape together ten thousand men to take the country.”

     He stood, holding the Prince in his arms, and paced back and forth across the plush carpet. “I've been trying to warn the eastern kingdoms about the Radiants and gotten nowhere. If they all stand together, pool their military resources, they’ll have a chance against whatever's left of Carrow’s army after they’ve finished with us. Ponwell suddenly wants to go it alone because Dwen was killed? He must know the danger!”

     He paused. Bowen tried to climb up onto his shoulder. He placed the Prince down on the ground, where he licked a paw and began washing himself. “On the other hand, when the other Kingdoms see what he's doing, maybe they'll be inspired to follow suit. Ponwell is well admired and respected, and they can clearly see the danger posed by Carrow. They must all fear being picked off one by one. Maybe Dwen's death was a blessing in...”

     He suddenly became aware of the look on the Queens face. “Her death was tragic, of course. If there was anything I could do to change what happened...”

     Lacurnia stood and walked over to take his hand. “I know,” she said, forcing a smile. “I know you’re not glad she's dead. But because she died...”