He let out a long breath. “I’m Dredger. I helped your spy with the gate, sir.”
Some of the tension eased from my shoulders. “Then you have my deepest gratitude, Dredger.”
The stocky man drew himself upright, his flushed face sincere. “We’re here to join your fight to free Aquinon, sir.”
The other soldiers nodded and murmured their assent.
I strode forward and stuck out my bloody hand. “I would be honored.”
Dredger shook it with a quick grin that showed the genial man he likely was outside of battle. Then he was all business. “There’s an army contingent outside the main gate, requesting entrance under your orders. No one has fired a shot yet, but?—”
“Lead the way,” I commanded.
He nodded and marched ahead, his men falling into place behind him.
I glanced back at the cliff gate. A few soldiers ran along the wall to the main gate. Likely to warn the rest that we were coming.
Maz walked at my side, his eyes darting around the market stalls that huddled on either side of the road. “That couldn’t have been all the Wolves at the docks.”
Certainly not.
“Ruru,” I called quietly, gesturing him forward. “Give the flag to your brother and scout ahead to the Noble Quarter for more Wolves.Stay hidden.Report back.”
He nodded, then did as I said, disappearing into the labyrinth he knew well.
We reached the main gate without further hindrance. But the top of the gate wall bristled with archers and armed soldiers. More of them formed a thick ring in front of the gate doors, spears at the ready. But pointed at us.
My stomach crawled with unease. One wrong move, and this could turn into a bloodbath no one wanted.
A tall man in full armor, apart from a helmet, stood on the stone steps between the ramparts and the ground. His furious gaze was fixed on Dredger.
“What is the meaning of this, soldier?” he bellowed. “You betray your kingdom and your brothers in arms by leading these rebels here.”
“I’m trying to bloody save them, Captain!” Dredger roared back.
I stepped up next to him, flipping my sword hilt so that I held it pointed to the ground. “Dredger is right,” I said, lifting my voice to be heard as far as possible. “My name is Aiden Falcryn. I come to our royal city to destroy the man who has captured Aquinon and kept it in terror for many years beyond that. I do not want to shed any Rellmiran blood other than that of Renwell and his murderous Wolves. Join us, and we will reclaim the city!”
The soldiers stared at each other and me, uncertainty rippling through their ranks. The captain’s jaw worked furiously, as if trying to decide whether to give the order to attack.
“Listen to him!” Dredger cried. “Captain, how many times have you lost men to Renwell and his Wolves? And you,Locklean. They murdered your sister in front of her children! Wottel, Mankmen, Grindall, Cabbot, all of us have suffered at the hands of Weylin, Renwell, and the dogs that do their bidding! We have a chance to end it here and now. I say we take it!”
Some of the soldiers nodded and lowered their weapons. A few of my warriors shouted and cheered their approval.
But the captain remained stone-faced. “And you would trust this man?” he demanded, gesturing to me. “He may shackle us with the same fear we suffer now, or worse, we will fail and be branded as traitors. Our families will suffer and die for this!”
“They already are!” Dredger shouted back. “I would rather fight for them now, instead of waiting for those gods-damned Wolves to take them from me!”
Silence fell over the crowd.
I stepped closer, putting myself in range of their spears. I felt Maz shift into place behind me. “You don’t know me, but you know of me. I fought in the Pravaran rebellion. Many of the soldiers waiting outside lost friends and family in that fight. I was also a prisoner in the Calimber mine. The same mine that my allies and I have now destroyed, along with the High General who massacred and imprisoned our people.”
“It’s true!” yelled one of our warriors, stepping forward. I recognized the man as a prisoner who’d volunteered to fight. Varyn, I believed his name was. “They freed us from Calimber and obliterated the whole gods-damned mine! This man is the true king we’ve been waiting for!”
Murmurs broke out among the soldiers. Awe and understanding cleared away the suspicion in their gazes.
The captain kept his arms crossed, his fingers tapping on his arm in a way that reminded me of Kiera. My heart lurched. Fucking Four, we didn’t have another moment to waste. But I needed these soldiers.
Someone touched my shoulder, and I turned.
