A Reign of Steel by Morgan Rice Read Free Book Online

peace.
    “Did
I hear correctly, my lady?” Kendrick asked, shock in his voice.
    Gwendolyn
nodded.
    “You
did,” she replied. “When you’re done, collect their corpses, and expel them
from our gates.”
    Gwendolyn
turned and walked away, through the courtyard of King’s Court, and as she did, she
heard behind her the screams of the McClouds. Despite herself, she flinched.
    Gwen
walked through a city filled with corpses and yet filled with cheering and
music and dancing, thousands of people swarming back to their homes, refilling
the city as if nothing bad had ever happened. As she watched them, her heart
filled with dread.
    “The
city is ours again,” Kendrick said, coming up beside her.
    Gwendolyn
shook her head.
    “Just
for a short while.”
    He
looked at her in surprise.
    “What
do you mean?”
    She
stopped and faced him.
    “I’ve
seen the prophecies,” she said. “The ancient scripts. I’ve spoken with Argon.
I’ve dreamt a dream. An attack is coming our way. It was a mistake to return
here. We must all evacuate at once.”
    Kendrick
looked at her, his face ashen, and Gwen sighed as she surveyed her people.
    “But
my people will not listen.”
    Kendrick
shook his head.
    “What
if you’re mistaken?” he said. “What if you are looking too deeply into
prophecies? We have the finest fighting army in the world. Nothing can reach
our gates. The McClouds are dead, and we have no other enemies left in the Ring.
The Shield is up and holds strong. And we also have Ralibar, wherever he is.
You have nothing to fear. We have nothing to fear.”
    Gwendolyn
shook her head.
    “That
is precisely the moment when you have the most to fear,” she replied.
    Kendrick
sighed.
    “My
lady, this was just a freak attack,” he said. “They surprised us on Pilgrimage Day.
We shall never leave King’s Court unguarded again. This city is a fortress. It
has held for thousands of years. There is no one left to topple us.”
    “You
are wrong,” she said.
    “Well,
even if I am, you see that the people won’t leave. My sister,” Kendrick said,
his voice softening, imploring, “I love you. But I speak as your commander. As
the commander of the Silver. If you try to force your people to evacuate, to do
what they do not want to do, you will have a revolt on your hands. They do not
see whatever danger that you do. And to be honest, I do not even see it myself.”
    Gwendolyn
looked at her people, and she knew that Kendrick was right. They would not
listen to her. Even her own brother did not believe her.
    And
it broke her heart.
    *
    Gwendolyn
stood alone on the upper parapets of her castle, holding Guwayne tight and looking
out at the sunset, the two suns hanging low in the sky. Down below, she heard
the muted shouts and celebrations of her people, all preparing for a huge night
of celebration. Out there, she saw the rolling vistas of the lands surrounding King’s
Court, a kingdom at its peak. Everywhere was the bounty of summer, endless
fields of green, orchards, a lush land rich with bounty. The land was content,
rebuilt after so much tragedy, and she saw a world at peace with itself.
    Gwendolyn
furrowed her brow, wondering how any sort of darkness could ever reach here.
Maybe the darkness she had imagined had already come in the form of the McClouds.
Maybe it had already been averted, thanks to Kendrick and the others. Maybe
Kendrick had been right. Maybe she had grown too cautious since she had become
Queen, had seen too much tragedy. Maybe she was, like Kendrick said, looking
too deeply into things.
    After
all, to evacuate her people from their homes, to lead them across the Canyon,
onto ships, to the volatile Upper Isles, was a drastic move, a move reserved
for a time of the greatest calamity. What if she did so, and no tragedy ever
befell the Ring? She’d be known as the Queen who panicked with no danger in
sight.
    Gwendolyn
sighed, clutching Guwayne as he squirmed in her arms, and wondered if she were
losing her mind.