Page 250 of Scorched Earth

“Report,” Marcus said softly, though he already knew in his heart how this had gone.

Qian didn’t meet his gaze, the centurion’s eyes locked on Marcus’s breastplate. “It was a ploy, sir. A trick.”

“Explain.”

“As planned, the first ship anchored close to shore. Two hundred went to the meeting and a hundred remaining on board, while I kept my vessel well back, as was agreed. We were too distant to see clearly, but they met on the beach and conversation ensued. Then it all went to shit. Giants climbed out of the water and boarded the other ship, attacking and killing all aboard before setting it ablaze. On the beach—” He broke off, throat moving as he swallowed. “A whole other force exploded from the sand beneath their feet.”

Marcus listened in silence as Qian detailed numbers and formations, the centurion’s voice shaking slightly as he said, “If they’d held together a little longer, we’d have been able to reinforce, and we had numbers enough to match the Mudamorians. But our men broke apart like they were attacked from within—like it was the woman who attacked them. She had no weapon, sir, but with the speed she moved… The only time I’ve seen the like of it was the corrupted, Ashok, who killed Titus in Aracam.”

Marcus had a strong suspicion of why a healer might possess that speed given his own experiences with Ashok, but he only said, “Continue.”

Qian gave a sharp shake of his head. “Our boys fought hard, but they were outnumbered, sir. Badly so, especially when the giants that had attacked the ship joined the fight. The Mudamorians and their allies cut them down to the last, but there was one man who killed the most. Tall, dark hair, olive skin—I’ve never seen anyone fight like him, not even Kaira.”

Marcus had heard that description before.Killian Calorian.

“Two hundred men on the beach,” Marcus said. “Another hundred on the ship. All dead.”

“Yes, sir. It did not seem prudent to engage, given the odds would have been in their favor with us coming in from the sea.”

“It was the right choice, Centurion.” Felix’s voice had a slight shake to it. “If you’d attacked, your own numbers would have joined the casualties.”

Behind the walls in his mind, Marcus heard screams of grief, but the emotion didn’t touch him. “A ploy,” he murmured. “A trick. But to what end?”

“What do you mean, to what end?” Servius demanded. “They slaughtered three hundred of the Thirty-Seventh and burned one of our ships. That’s a significant blow.”

“Not in the scheme of things.” Then, seeing how Servius’s expression hardened, Marcus added, “From their perspective, not ours.” He rested his hands on the table, head lowered so they couldn’t see his face or the lack of emotion he suspected was on it.

The silence stretched, and when the tension had grown thick, Marcus straightened and began to pace around the table. “We must set our grief aside and consider the Mudamorians’ intentions. On the surface, all they have succeeded in doing is poking the dragon that sits outside their doorstep. What did the feigned negotiations on behalf of that vacuous idiot who wears their crown achieve besides the death of three hundred men and the loss of one ship? Three hundred out of tens of thousands, I’ll remind you.”

No one spoke, and as Marcus’s eyes tracked over the best and brightest minds in the Empire, he did not fail to notice how none of them would meet his gaze.

Drusus cleared his throat. “Time.”

“Yes, time.” Marcus continued to circle the table. “But time to do what? What have they gained by delaying our attack?”

“Allies,” Felix answered. “The giants of Eoten Isle have clearly joined their forces, as well as the soldiers who Qian saw on the beach. An alliance with Anukastre, perhaps.”

“Likely, yet this was not the strategy of an enemy who has gained enough allies to turn the tide.” Marcus took the glass that Gibzen handed him, sipping from it. “This is something else. What have they gained that is worth destroying any chance of negotiation? That is worth sacrificing any chance of mercy? What has Killian Calorian gained that is worthpissing us off?” He threw the cup of wine across the room, the liquid spraying the tile floor.

Silence filled the room, and in it, Teriana’s voice filled his head.We’re going to war, Legatus. And I think it’s time you had a taste of what it’s like to lose.“What have our spies seen of the Maarin?”

Felix cleared his throat. “TheQuincensewas spotted briefly in Serlania, as were several other Maarin vessels, but all have since departed, destinations unknown.”

She was a part of this,the voice whispered.She declared war on you. She’s allied with those who killed your men.“See what the Katamarcans can discover.”

“Yes, sir.”

Marcus went back to the window to stare at the tower, watching night fall over Revat as he silently waited.

“Now what?” Drusus finally asked. “The gambit didn’t work, but the orders remain the same. The Dictator wants the gold mines and he wants them now. Let’s not pretend that every man here doesn’t have skin in the game as far as giving Cassius what he wants, even if it’s just glory. What’s the plan, Prodigy? What brilliant strategy do you have tucked up your sleeve that’s going to ensure Cassius is satisfied but won’t cost us half our men?”

“We shouldn’t rush into this,” Felix said. “Mudamora has a big enough army that just making a beach landing will cost us in blood, never mind the complication of running supplies into a land where the very water itself might be poison.”

“Shut up, Felix,” Drusus snapped. “We all know the risks, but the Dictator has our backs up against the wall. We have to do it. What we need is a plan that will ensure we survive getting Cassius his gold.”

Behind Marcus, the throne room devolved into arguments and shouts between legati and officers, everyone having various opinions on how this should be done, but Marcus only cast a glance at Gibzen, who nodded, then left the room.

Everyone fell silent when the primus returned, and Marcus turnedas two dozen of Gibzen’s men entered the room with crossbows leveled at the man they had with them.