Kushiel's Mercy - Jacqueline Carey [188]
In the infirmary, I found Kratos in good spirits. His ribs were swathed in bandages, but he reported that he was able to move around a little and there was less pain when he breathed. It made me hopeful.
“So what’s to become of us, my lord?” Kratos asked.
I told him what we were hoping to accomplish with the council and the Euskerri. He listened sagely, nodding.
“They’d be fools not to agree,” he said when I’d finished. “All of ’em. Wrestling’s a good way to take a man’s measure, and Astegal’s ruthless. If they don’t stand together, he’ll take them down one by one.”
“I know,” I said. “I pray we can convince them.”
“You will.” Kratos took a deep experimental breath. “So we’re bound for Euskerri territory, eh?”
“We?” I shook my head at him. “Oh, no. Elua willing, Sidonie and I, yes; and then on to Terre d’Ange. But you, my friend, are staying in Amílcar to recover.”
“My lord!” he protested. “Put me astride a horse and I’ll be fine. You can’t abandon me here. I don’t even speak the language.”
“No.” I laid a hand on his arm. “Kratos, I’ve been responsible for too many good men losing their lives in quarrels not their own. I’m not risking yours again.”
His jaw tightened. “You gave me my freedom. It’s not your choice.”
I gazed at his face: the blunt, worn features, the squashed nose. There was pride there, pride and courage and a canny intellect. Kratos had found hope and purpose long after he’d thought it lost. It would be cruel to take it from him.
So be it.
“It is my choice,” I said in a hard tone. “I’m responsible for Sidonie’s safety. And I’m sorry, Kratos, but you’re not fit for travel. You might be able to ride, but could you mount in a hurry? Could you scramble over rocks if we had to flee on foot? No. You’re staying here.”
Kratos bowed his head. “As you will.”
I felt bad for him, but not as badly as I would have felt if he’d died like Gilot. “We’d never have gotten this far without you, my friend,” I said more gently. “Think on that while you heal.”
He grunted. “I’ll try.”
I took my leave of Kratos and found Captain Deimos. His men were restless and concerned, trapped in a besieged city with the threat of Carthaginian reprisal hanging over them if Amílcar should fall. I promised to speak to Lady Nicola about dispersing them throughout the city so that they might not collectively be identified as the crew of the Cytheran ship that assisted in abducting Astegal’s bride. Beyond that, there wasn’t much else I could do.
When I returned to the palace, Lady Nicola was in conference with several Aragonian lords’ wives, doing her best to persuade them to sway their husbands, I reckoned. Since I gauged it too early to interrupt Sidonie, I went to the palace stables and begged the loan of a horse.
Ever since we’d arrived, I’d wanted to get a look at Astegal’s forces. I rode to the northwestern edge of the city.
Over the course of a day, word had spread of Sidonie’s and my initial address to the council, and I found myself greeted with curiosity and wonder more than hostility. The squadron of guards posted in the northwest tower were glad enough to introduce me to their captain, who took me out onto the walls himself.
“There the bastard sits, your highness,” the captain announced with a wave of his arm.
I gazed at the scene before me. There was the army we’d sent off with fanfare from New Carthage, spread out across the plain at the base of the foothills. Amílcar was situated between two rivers, and Astegal’s army occupied the ground between them, fortified by defensive trenches and earthworks. Soldiers bustled about, digging the trenches deeper and building the earthworks higher.
“No siege engines?” I asked.
The captain, whose name was Aureliano, shook his head. “Thus far he’s not bothered. I reckon he thinks he can wait us out.”
“Do you?”
Aureliano pursed his lips. “Unless something gives, aye. Are the rumors true? Are you and the princess able to put an end to the madness in Terre d’Ange and send aid?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “If