Page 40 of Tree of Ash (The Runic Saga #2)

Prisoners of War

Darien

With Hammon’s death, breaching the Second Wall had been all too easy.

The Vienám swarmed in, but Torsten had kept Darien back along with Larissa and Halla.

There was no need for them to go house to house, dragging out the generals, aristocratic families, and remaining sentries, his father said. Their men would see to that.

Torsten waited in the open courtyard near the wall as aristocrats and generals were brought to kneel before him.

Unbeholden to Torsten’s command, Anara had darted off through the streets of the Court of the Aristocracy with abandon.

Though Darien never doubted her safety, he scanned the city streets for her return.

“Lara, this is Kai.” Halla’s soft voice came from Darien’s left.

She gestured to a young boy that Darien hadn’t noticed before.

His clothes shouted “slave,” but there was nothing else remarkable about him.

Perhaps that was why Darien hadn’t noticed him.

He tried to commit to memory the boy’s lanky form and angular eyes that darted away from Darien’s inspection.

“He helped me when we were in the barracks,” Halla continued, looking at Larissa.

Larissa squeezed Halla tight against her side. “Thank you, Kai; I’m in your debt.”

Darien raised an eyebrow at Larissa, noting the odd tone in her voice, but she didn’t respond to his questioning gaze.

Kai nodded at Larissa in respect before looking away again.

Was he scared of her? After Hammon’s death, many citizens, though in awe of their returned Princess, were giving her a wide berth.

Their words were far kinder than those of the men being brought to kneel before Torsten.

Their whispers rose, targeting the Princess that stood to Darien’s left.

“ . . . she killed Hammon . . .”

“ . . . she used galdr like it was nothing . . .”

“ . . . broke the Outer Wall on her own . . .”

“ . . . she’ll kill us all . . .”

The stiffening in Larissa’s posture was all it took for Darien to know that she heard the accusations too. She turned her back on their whispers and brushed aside the hair at the back of Halla’s neck, examining the burn beneath it. Her jaw clenched several times before opening. “What happened?”

But their attention was diverted by a man in uniform being pushed toward the courtyard.

He swore loudly as Anara shoved him from behind, keeping a firm grasp on the man twice her size.

She pushed him to the cobblestone ground and bared her teeth in his face.

At the sight of her fangs, the general paled, his mouth opening and closing without sound.

Giving him a satisfied look, Anara left him under Haki’s and Jari’s supervision.

Seeing Darien, Anara walked in his direction. “The palace is ours.”

Though she’d spoken to Darien, Torsten responded. “Casualties?”

“No more than what it took to get here; the sentries surrendered once they knew that Hammon was dead.”

Darien’s unease increased, not at the thought of casualties, but at the growing number of families that were being rounded up in the courtyard. Dazed, confused children were forced to sit beside their parents, who stared at the ground in burning silence.

Larissa looked on in concern though she, too, was trying to hide it.

Even Anara’s lips were pressed into a thin line at the sight of the toddler who clung to her mother’s neck, but it was Halla who bounced with worry.

The boy, Kai, whispered in Halla’s ear, but she shook her head in anguish.

Darien leaned toward her, his eyes avoiding the branding that made his stomach clench and his hands yearn for something to hit.

“What’s wrong, kiddo?”

Halla clutched a small lavender bow so tightly that the fabric crumpled in her fingers.

Darien knelt, his face on the same level as her own. “You can tell me.”

“What are they going to do to them?”

Darien didn’t need to look at Halla’s gaze to know she was asking about the aristocratic families. He hesitated. A quick glance up revealed Larissa’s concerned expression as well. “I’ll find out,” he said to them both.

Torsten barked orders as more aristocrats were forced to kneel in the courtyard. Even through his stern countenance, triumph shone through his eyes.

“Faeir,” Darien said, using the honorific to soften the interruption as he approached.

Torsten beamed at his son. “We’ve done it. Before you know it, we’ll be reclaiming Safír as well. Our people will rejoice just as the Perlians did today.”

Warmth encased his stomach and traveled through his body at the thought.

Our people , his father had said. Darien had heard the words so many times, and yet they had never mattered to him quite as they did in that moment.

He could free his people, just as Larissa had done.

All of his life, he’d looked up to Aeron, knowing it would be his job to support his brother, grateful the kingdom would never rest on his shoulders.

But Darien felt it then, the overwhelming desire to free his people. It was a burn he’d never felt before.

But the burn was doused by the sight of those kneeling behind his father. “Why are we gathering the households of the aristocracy?”

“The generals will be put on trial and imprisoned or executed according to their crimes.”

“And their families?” Larissa asked, having joined Torsten and Darien with Halla at her side.

Torsten frowned. “All who served the Empress will be imprisoned until their loyalties can be tested.”

Darien’s forehead furrowed. “What about the children—”

“Saessae!” Halla cried out, her body turned toward a young girl added to the kneeling crowd.

Larissa’s grip held Halla back from flinging herself toward the girl with shell-shocked eyes.

Her mouth formed Halla’s name. Halla tugged at Larissa’s arm.

“Saessae wouldn’t hurt anyone. She isn’t loyal to the Empress. We can trust her.”

Larissa turned toward Torsten and crossed her arms. “Release the child.”

Torsten’s jaw clenched. “No.”

Darien glanced around, grateful no one noticed the standoff occurring in the midst of them. Only Halvor, who stood to the side determinedly looking in another direction, could hear the argument.

Larissa caved first. “These are my people, Torsten.”

“These are my soldiers, Lovisa. Do you want us to leave and see what happens?” Torsten sighed, releasing some of the tension from his body. “You must trust me, Lovisa. I am doing what is best for you and your people. I won’t harm anyone who doesn’t deserve it.”

“But you’ll imprison infants and children?”

“This is war. Sometimes ruthlessness is a mercy unto itself. You don’t even know this child.

You have no idea what she is capable of.

Let’s say that I release her. What’s to stop her from running off or communicating with those sympathetic to the Empress and informing them of what happened here today? ”

“Who’s to say Hammon hasn’t already sent informants before the battle?” Larissa argued.

“Can you trust her? This girl you’ve never met? These children were bred on love for the Empress. They’ve nursed on it from their birth. It is all they’ve ever known.”

Looking over the crowd of captives, Darien saw what his father meant. While some of the children looked on in fear or shock, many glared at Torsten and Larissa with hatred. Some even caught his gaze and tilted their chins in defiance, reflecting the anger on their parents’ faces.

“It’s not right. Darien, tell him—” Larissa’s voice stopped, noticing the look on his face. “You don’t agree with him, do you?”

“If Halla says she trusts the girl, then I trust her, but the rest of them . . .” Darien gestured. “Look at them, Lara. They’re your people, but they might not accept that yet.”

Larissa stepped back, and it took everything for Darien to not recant his words. The look of approval on his father’s face only made it worse. “ Faeir , will it really hurt to release one child?”

The approval lessened but did not vanish. Darien knew his father, knew the frustrations that passed behind his calm eyes as he weighed out the cost of acquiescing to Larissa’s request. “If it means that much to you, Princess, but the girl will serve under supervision.”

“As a slave?” Halla squeaked.

“No,” Darien spoke quickly, resting a hand on Halla’s shoulder. “No, that’s not what he meant. Right?”

Halvor stepped back into the discussion.

“The palace will need servants, your majesty. Why not send her to work in the kitchens? Others within the Vienám will be able to monitor her closely there. See that she doesn’t harm anyone”—he glanced down at Halla, his face softening—“and that no harm comes to her.”

“An acceptable proposition,” Torsten agreed. “Unless you have any further objections, Princess Lovisa?”

Just as Darien could read his father, he could read Larissa with even more ease. It was the right choice, the only choice, but it was a choice Larissa had been backed into. Something she didn’t appreciate. “You can’t keep the other children imprisoned indefinitely.”

“As long as it takes, but no longer,” Torsten promised, which Darien knew was not much of a promise at all.

Without waiting for his father’s approval, Darien waded through the bodies, ignoring the animosity pointed in his direction.

The ring on his finger was enough to identify who he was and the role he played in their demise.

He approached Saessae, ignoring the way her father struggled to his feet only to be shoved back down by one of the Vienám.

He offered a hand to the girl who trembled on the ground.

Her fear wasn’t unlike that which he’d seen in the eyes of the slaves he’d freed from the barracks.

Darien shoved the image away. Those children had been victims of the Empress.

Abused by those in power. It wasn’t the same.

“Come on, Halla’s waiting.”

At Halla’s name, the girl took Darien’s hand, though her eyes remained wary. Her father struggled again and shouted around the gag in his mouth as Darien led Saessae through the captives. Reaching the edge, he released her hand just as she raced toward Halla.

“Halla, I don’t understand.” The girl’s perfect curls bounced in distress. “What’s happening? Who are these people?”

“It’s okay.” Halla held Saessae’s hands. “The Vienám reclaimed Perle. Princess Lovisa will make everything right now.”

Incredulity flooded her face. “What do you mean, right ? Halla, they’ve destroyed Perle, just look at it.”

Smoke drifted throughout the city where fights had broken out. Even now the Vienám was still working to put out small skirmishes through the outer section where sentries attempted to flee.

“No. The Vienám want to get rid of the Empress. They want to bring back the peace we had before.”

“Peace?” Anger flooded her voice. “Does this look like peace to you Halla?” She glanced at Larissa, shivering as she looked away. “They’re saying she killed Hammon. In cold blood.”

“He would have killed Darien—”

Saessae’s voice rose in hysterics. “She’ll kill all of us!”

Larissa’s cheeks reddened, but she remained by her sister’s side. Halla looked at Saessae; disbelief coloring her face. “No, Saessae, you’re safe—”

“And my father?”

“You said yourself he wasn’t a kind man!”

“That doesn’t mean I want him dead! I thought you were my friend.” She yanked her hands out of Halla’s grasp. “I want to go back to my father.”

Larissa’s shocked face was nothing compared to Halla’s, but Torsten only looked on as if it were all too predictable.

Motioning to a sentry near him, Torsten ordered the girl taken back to her father.

She left without another glance in Halla’s direction.

In between blinks, Darien caught sight of the lavender bow in Halla’s hand that she crumpled and shoved into her pocket.

He watched Larissa guide Halla away from the growing crowd, whispering to her as they walked.

Torsten caught Darien’s eye. “There is a time and place for mercy. You’ll learn one day.” He clapped his hand on Darien’s shoulder, then moved on to instruct the guards on what to do with the prisoners.

Darien’s gaze followed Saessae as she sat beside her father. With her head bowed against the sun, she looked more like the children from the slave barracks than ever, a victim in a war she had no part in.