"We don't have much time," Ysandre announced, sitting upright in a chair and looking at Joscelin and me with a direct gaze. "Whatever happens this day, I want you both to know that I issued a pardon before we left the City, proclaiming your innocence in the death of Anafiel Delaunay. And all who are here know as much."
Tears stung my eyes. "Thank you, my lady," I murmured, overwhelmed with gratitude that she should remember such a thing, in the midst of war. Joscelin bowed, echoing my thanks with heartfelt fervor.
Ysandre waved them away. "I'm sorry I didn't dare it earlier," she said bluntly. "But if word reached d'Aiglemort or Melisande Shahrizai, it would have alerted them. And even to the end, we were not entirely sure who could be trusted."
"You didn't find Melisande," I said, hoping to hear otherwise. Ysandre shook her head grimly.
"The Cassiline Brotherhood kept eyes and ears open as they bore messages, but we didn't dare search openly, for the same reason I couldn't pardon you publically. If she had means of contacting Waldemar Selig, she might have told him we were prepared, and he would have changed his plans. Our chances were slim enough as they stood," she added, nodding soberly at the fortress walls.
"Of course," I said politely, though I wished it were not so. Ysandre stood and paced, shooting restless glances at the doorway. Her own Cassiline guards stood back, watching attentively, and occasionally stealing furtive looks at Joscelin, who ignored them.
At last she halted, and asked in a tentative voice, quite unlike her usual cool tone, "It is true, then, that Drustan mab Necthana rules as Cruarch in Alba? Did he send any word for me?"
So that was it. I had forgotten, in all that had happened, that a young woman's heart was at stake in the matter. I nearly smiled, then; to my surprise, Joscelin did, ducking his head to hide it, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Your majesty, I saw him crowned before we left Alba's shore."
I said firmly, and added honestly, "If he sent no word, it is because he did not know what I intended. And I did not tell him because I did not expect to survive this last journey, and his honor is too great to have allowed me to make it. I have seen it, again and again, that he would put himself at risk in his people's stead. But this, I can tell you. Alone among our allies, Drustan mab Necthana rides toward Troyes-le-Mont with his head held high and a joyful heart, because he rides toward you. The dream that you shared together, of two mighty nations ruled side by side, lives on in him. If his people had not risen up to follow him, he would have set out to retake his throne alone, and had he fallen in the attempt, his last thought would have been of you."
Ysandre kept her restraint, but color glowed in her pale cheeks. "Thank you," she murmured.
"Your majesty," Joscelin said soberly, "one of the great honors of my life is Drustan mab Necthana calling me brother. He is a courageous and good leader, and I think in his quiet Cruithne way, he is very madly in love with you."
Her blush deepened. "I didn't think Cassilines were supposed to notice such things," Ysandre said tartly, masking her reaction. Her own Cassiline guards held their expressions impassive.
"No," Joscelin said wryly, glancing at me. "They're not."
"Your majesty!" A soldier in a mail shirt, his helmet under his arm, appeared at the door. "The sky is beginning to lighten. My lord de Somer-ville would have conference with you."
Ysandre left, then, taking her guards and attendants with her, leaving Joscelin and me alone.
It was hard to speak of it, after what had happened.
"How did you know?" I asked softly.
He shook his head. "I don't know. I awoke, and knew somewhat was amiss. When I saw you had gone, I just knew. And I knew what Selig would do, if he caught you."
"I thought you'd betrayed us all, for your vow. Before the end." I had to say it. "I'm sorry."
"I don't blame you." He gave me his wry look. "You know, it is something every Cassiline learns, the terminus. But no one's ever used it in living memory." He studied his hands. "I nearly killed us both."
"Joscelin." I touched his face. "I know. And until the day I die, I will be grateful for it." There was more, so much more I wanted to say to him, but I could not find the words, and there was no time for it. Joscelin caught my hand and held it hard.
"It would have saved Hyacinthe the trouble of drowning me, if I'd let Selig have you," he said with a lightness neither of us felt. We could hear shouting outside the door, and the sound of running feet. "Can you walk? We might find out what's happening."
"I would have walked here, if you'd have let me," I said, struggling to stand. "You should go find your father."
Joscelin cocked his head, listening, then shook it. "It's too late. I'd only be in the way, and take his mind off the battle." He gave a rueful smile. "At least he knew I was no murderer, before the end."
It was small consolation, but it would have to do. I squeezed his hand once more, in lieu of things unsaid. "Come on."
EIGHTY-NINE
We made our way through the fortress, sidling along the walls to avoid the lines of rushing soldiers. The ascent up the southeast tower was the worst, climbing the narrow spiral of stairs. Joscelin did his best to shield me, but the passage was too small; once or twice I nearly cried out as my back brushed against a rough outcropping of stone.
Still, we made our way upward, and gained the battlements of the eastern wall, guessing aright that the command watch would be stationed there.
In the leaden light of predawn, it was like a scene straight out of hell. I had been amid the Skaldi camp, but I'd not understood, until then, what life had been like for those besieged in the fortress.
An ocean of Skaldi surged on the plain below, breaking like waves at the edge of the moat, spears and arrows arching upward toward the parapet. Pots of feu d'Hellas smoked and stank on the battlement, the east-pointing trebuchet cranked and waiting. Archers crouched at the arrow-slits with crossbows, their seconds standing by with a replacement strung and ready. A longbow can fire six arrows to the single bolt of a crossbow on the field, but there is no weapon better in defending stone.
Amid this chaos, cool and composed behind one of the high merlons of the crenelated wall, stood Ysandre de la Courcel, Queen of Terre d'Ange, in discussion with Percy de Somerville, Caspar Trevalion and Barquiel L'Envers. Spotting Joscelin and me in the tower, de Somerville sent a detachment of soldiers to escort us, shields braced outward against Skaldi weapons.
"Good," de Somerville said calmly. "I'm glad you're here. Selig's got his temper under control. He's still focused on the assault, but he just sent out scouting parties in six directions, and I think he's increased the guard on the perimeter. What's Ghislain's angle of approach?"
"Due east," I said, pointing toward the foothills.
De Somerville put his eye to the arrow-slit and squinted through it. "How long until they arrive, if they began to move at first light?"
"Two hours?" I guessed.
Joscelin shook his head. "They'll be moving in a hurry, and Selig's sentries will give warning, long before they get there. I wouldn't worry about scouting parties—they're no match for the Cruithne—but once they're on flat ground, they'll be seen. The Skaldi won't wait, they'll take the battle to them. An hour, no more, I think."
"If Selig divides his forces, we're in trouble." Barquiel L'Envers tucked the trailing end of his burnouse more securely beneath his helm. "He could leave ten thousand men here to keep us penned in, and still outnumber the Albans two to one."
I rose on tiptoes to peer through the arrow-slit. Below, out of arrow-range, Waldemar Selig rode a tall horse, a mighty figure, ranging back and forth along the line, shouting exhortations at the Skaldi.
"They'll follow Selig," I said, drawing back. "If he turns, they'll all go. And Isidore d'Aiglemort is aiming for him."
I could see how little they liked it still, mistrusting d'Aiglemort's loyalty. I didn't blame them.
"So be it," Percy de Somerville said at length. "Cousin." He nodded at Caspar Trevalion. "With your folk in Azzalle, we can spare you from the field the most, and you're the only one I trust to make the choice. With the army mustered below, we need a signal we can see from the gatehouse. Use the trebuchet, and feu d'Hellas. If Selig breaks east and his army follows, fire east, and we fall on their rear. If he divides his forces, fire west, and we'll sweep to the left and engage their weak side."
"It will be done," Caspar Trevalion murmured. "Elua be with us all."
They took their farewells, then, the men clasping each other's hands. Percy de Somerville bowed to Ysandre.
"Your majesty," he said soberly. "I served under your grandfather for many years. But if I die today, I die proud to have served under you."
She stood very tall and straight on the grey walls of the battlements. "And I to have been served by you, Comte de Somerville. Elua's blessing upon you."
To my surprise, Barquiel L'Envers grinned, and kissed his niece on the brow. "Take care of yourself, Ysandre, you make a damned good Queen. We'll do our best to see you stay one." He nodded at Joscelin and me. "Keep these two with you, will you? They seem to be damnably hard to kill."
I did not always like the Due L'Envers, but I could not help loving him then.
When they were gone, Ysandre shivered, and wrapped her deep-blue cloak with the Courcel swan embroidered in silver at the collar tight around her.
"I must speak to Farrens de Marchet, who commands the trebuchet crew on the western wall," Caspar Trevalion said apologetically. "Will you not go below to safety, your majesty?"
"No." Ysandre shook her fair head. "I will stay here, my lord. Terre d'Ange stands or falls with us this day, and so do I."
"We'll stay," I said to Caspar. It made no earthly difference, save for L'Envers' flippant comment, but it was enough. He nodded and set off quickly, a company of shields with him.
We stood there and watched the skies lighten as dawn broke full in the east, and the sun slowly began to clear the horizon. Joscelin kept a watchful eye to the arrow-slit, looking for our army. A handful of Ysan-dre's House Courcel guard, as well as her ever-present Cassilines, surrounded us; still, I think there was no one else to whom she dared speak her mind.
"I have your book, still, your majesty," I said presently, casting about for something to say. "Your father's diary. It is with my things, in our camp. I kept it with me, all this time."
"Did you read it?" She smiled sadly. "It was very beautiful, I thought."
"It was. He loved wisely, too. Delaunay lived for the memory of that love." I didn't mention Alcuin, though I was glad, now, that Delaunay had known a second happiness.
"I know." Ysandre glanced down into the courtyard far below and to the fore of us, filled with a tight mass of men. "I'm glad he made his peace with my uncle before he died. My mother caused a great deal of pain, I think."
"Yes." I couldn't gainsay her. "People do, for love, or for power."
"Or honor." She looked sympathetically at me. "I'm sorry you were drawn into this Phedre. Please know that whatever happens, you have my gratitude for the role you played. And for ... for what you told me of Drus-tan." She smiled at Joscelin. "Both of you. What became of your friend?" she asked then, remembering. "The Tsingano? Is he with Ghislain's army?"
It hurt to think of Hyacinthe; I caught my breath, and met Joscelin's eye, glancing round from the arrow-slit. "No, your majesty," I said. "It is a long story, our journey, and Hyacinthe's may be the longest."
"A Mendacant's tale," murmured Joscelin.
We told her, then, there on the battlements of besieged Troyes-le-Mont, while arrows clattered against the merlon and her guards kept watch. I began it, but Joscelin told it better, with all the skill he'd gained in his Mendacant guise. It was his tribute to Hyacinthe, and I let him have it, as he had let me have mine, the last night on that lonely isle.
Hyacinthe would have liked it, I think.
Caspar Trevalion came back to find his Queen round-eyed with awe, uncertain whether or not to credit our tale.
"De Marchet is ready," he said brusquely, returning us to the dire reality of our situation. "He'll fire on my command. Any sign of d'Aiglemort or the Albans?"
"No, my lord." I had been watching, while Joscelin told the story of Hyacinthe and the Master of the Straits. "Not yet."
Caspar glanced up at the sky, turning a pale blue as the sun rose steadily. "Pray they don't fail us," he said grimly. "They've near filled the moat with rubble at the barbican, and Selig's sappers are digging under the northwest tower. Farrens said they felt the stone tremble underfoot. They're moving one of the siege towers toward the north wall, too. We've let him get deadly close, if help doesn't come."
"It will come," I said, with a confidence I didn't feel. It was harder to believe, here.
"It is coming." Joscelin, back at the arrow-slit, pressed his eye to the aperture. His hands, flat against the wall, clenched, fingertips digging into stone. "It is coming. My lord! Look!" Heedless of station, he grabbed Caspar's arm and drew him to the wall.
Caspar Trevalion looked silently, then drew back. "Your majesty," he said, gesturing for her to look. Ysandre took a turn for a long moment, then stepped away and drew a shuddering breath.
"Phedre," she whispered. "You brought them. You should see."
I stepped up to the arrow-slit, standing once more on my toes and ignoring the pain of my injuries, and looked.
In the distance, at the base of the foothills, a shining line of silver advanced toward the fortress.
High on the battlements of Troyes-le-Mont, we had the advantage of sight, despite the greater distance; still, it was not long before Selig's sentries spotted their advance. None of his scouting parties had returned alive, and it was a mercy that Ghislain had found a path where they could descend undetected, but there was no hiding an entire army, once they were on level ground.
I gave way to Ysandre at the arrow-slit—she was Queen, I could do no less—but it was agony, not to see. I bore it as long as I could, then stepped out from behind the merlon, to stand at the low crenelation. Joscelin was a mere step behind me, and I thought for an instant that he would drag me back to safety, but he merely gave me a quick glance and set himself at my side, vambraces crossed before him.
We didn't have much to fear, as the attention of the Skaldi began to shift direction.
Nothing I have ever seen can compare to it, unless it be the seas roiling under the duress of the Master of the Straits. It was so vast, the Skaldi army, spread like an ocean across the plain. Word came from the eastern rearguard, the tiny figures of Selig's sentries pelting across the torn ground, and the mighty army began to surge.
It hit the outskirts of his forces with a ripple, and built to a swell, moving toward us. By the time it crested and broke against the fortress, throwing our attackers into chaos, the silver line of advancing soldiers had drawn nearer.
The outermost ranks of Skaldi broke, racing on foot and on horse across the plain to engage the oncoming enemy. The silver line halted and shrank, kneeling, and Ghislain de Somerville's L'Agnacite archers fired over their heads, a rain of black arrows arching down on the Skaldi. Then the line rose, shields raised to form a bar of of silver, and advanced.
These were Camaeline soldiers, born to the sword and drilled within an inch of their lives. Undisciplined and fierce with battle, the Skaldi broke against them like a wave against a wall, crashing, falling, dashed back. And the wall advanced.
At the base of the fortress, milling confusion ensued, Skaldi sappers and engineers abandoning their posts. Fearless in the melee, Waldemar Selig rode back and forth, shouting at them, ordering them to hold their places.
Disorderly and milling, they held, enough to hold our forces pinned within Troyes-le-Mont.
Far across the plain, the silver line of d'Aiglemort's infantry pushed forward, moving relentlessly into the Skaldi horde, which overran them on both sides, threatening to overwhelm them with sheer numbers.
That was when the Alban forces struck.
Cavalry to the right flank, and war-chariots to the left, foot soldiers swarming after both, streaming from behind the Camaeline infantry, wild and terrifying, they threw the entire battle into chaos.
But the numbers were against them.
Even at this distance, I could see the blood run in rivers of red, see our allies cut down. I turned without realizing it, found my hands clutching at Caspar Trevalion's arm.
"Give the signal!" I begged him, desperate. "They're dying out there!"
At the foot of the fortress, beyond the moat, Selig's discipline held, ten thousand strong. Caspar shook his head, ignoring my grip.
"We have to make it out the gate," he said, his voice heavy with grief. "We're no good to them if Selig's men can pick us off one by one."
I whirled away from him with a sharp cry, staring across the battlefield.
Near drowning in a sea of Skaldi, still, somehow, the Camaeline infantry held its line. Now they dug in, shields raised, fending off the dreadful numbers, and parted.
Slowly, like a massive gate opening, the line broke and opened. A single horn sounded, clear and defiant, its sound rising above the shouting.
Into the breach, the Camaeline cavalry charged; the Allies of Camlach, all who remained, with Isidore d'Aiglemort at their head.
He betrayed our nation, and all we hold dear. I make no excuse for that. But if the poets sing of the last charge of Isidore d'Aiglemort, they do so with reason. I know. I was there. I saw the mounted Allies of Camlach drive into tens of thousands of Skaldi like a wedge, faces bright with Camael's battle-fire, swords singing.
The shock of it went clear through the Skaldic army.
I heard the cry that arose, too, as the Skaldi gave way before them, some dying, some swirling away. "Kilberhaar!" they cried, falling and fleeing. "Kilberhaar!"