Blood Runner: Book Three of the Empress Saga

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

"And until the end of time," the lord said, coming to the end of his vows. He raised his head and met Enfri's gaze. "I, Wallace the Corwyn, swear the allegiance of my house to Empress Enfri the Yora of Shan Alee."

The Corwyn was a slender and ruddy man with light brown hair, now fading to white, and gray eyes. He had an archetypical face for a man of Temradel. The Dellish were recognized by their sharp and angular jawlines, pointed chins, and thin noses. His gray and yellow clothing was fine but had seen better days, and he was thin after weeks of living on little more than bread and onions.

In fact, the whole field smelled heavily of onion. And not fresh ones either. What the Second and Third Legions hadn't stolen on the aborted march through the client kingdom of Temradel, they'd trampled, and House Corwyn had been another obstacle crushed callously beneath their boots. The young house was destitute and had nowhere else to turn.

The Corwyns needed supply and support. In return, they had eighty veteran armsmen. They owned holdings along the Vladmir River and had the service of four knights of some renown. One of Lord Wallace's sons had even studied in Nadia as an alchemist. Corwyn was a minor house in danger of losing its title but a house that brought far more to the table than Enfri would need to expend to bring them under her banner.

According to Pacifica, noble houses might barter allegiances like any other commodity, and it wasn't terribly peculiar to pledge to a greater house from a different kingdom. A Dellish house pledging to Enfri might raise a few eyebrows, but it shouldn't ruffle too many feathers. In all things, House Yora acted fully within the laws of the Highest King.

Enfri's small army of five hundred armsmen and twenty-five dragons made camp on the Corwyn's ruined cropland. Quarter was bartered for with supplies brought up the river from Ecclesia. Now, after Pacifica's negotiations, this plantation was now the newest holding of Shan Alee.

Enfri had left Ecclesia with a mere hundred armsmen, but her force had grown with each noble house that bent the knee. The original intent was to send the new soldiers to aid in the White City's defense, however King Sasha's witches gave sendings that having an armed force on maneuvers outside the walls was proving advantageous in the dealings with the other Altieri cities.

All of Altier Nashal watched Enfri's progress. They saw her power growing. Their scouts witnessed first-hand that she indeed commanded the mighty. Fear of House Yora kept Ecclesia safe. Sasha also sent word that merchants and nobles alike were flocking back to Ecclesia, wishing to live beneath Enfri's protection. Ecclesia's desperate circumstances were swiftly becoming a thing of the past.

The cost was speed. With each new group of armsmen, the army became that much more cumbersome. Before much longer, setting out with so few of her armsmen in the interest of haste would become a moot point. At this rate, they may not reach Melcia for another month. That was time Enfri wasn't willing to take, but the responsibilities of her position required it. Jin had been right when she spoke of this.

The crown made one faceless.

Pacifica stood next to Enfri at the edge of the army camp. Deebee and Adar towered behind them in their truest forms. Jin stood off to the side, ostensibly serving as a witness from the Highest Court, and Reyn recorded Lord Wallace's oath of fealty in official documentation.

Enfri approached Lord Wallace the Corwyn and gestured for him to stand. Reyn came up beside her, carrying the document and a sealing-wax candle on her writing pallet.

"Before we go on," Enfri said in a soft voice that wouldn't carry to Wallace's two sons and escort of armsmen, "are you certain? I won't hold you to anything, my lord. We'll give you supplies whether you swear allegiance or not. Say the word, and Reyn will destroy the papers."