Caris ignored the Royal Guard who had entered first for her safety, hurrying toward the stairs with Blaine and Honovi on her heels. She’d cried the other night when she received news of Lore’s and Alasandair’s survival. Nathaniel’s return to the continent was unexpected but not unwelcome. Fontaine had been the ideal place to rendezvous now that it was under Ashion control once more, and she’d been counting the hours to their reunion.
The Ashion army had wrestled back control through vicious fighting over the last few weeks, driving the Daijal army out of Fontaine with the aid of wardens, the Legion, and the E’ridian air force. The push might have been for naught if the Tovan Isles hadn’t begun their naval assault to break the blockade in the Gulf of Helia. Reclaiming Fontaine had come at a cost, with the allied command attacking the town in order to keep it. When the Daijal army had abandoned it to shift troops back west to protect New Haven, they’d left destruction in their wake.
Portions of the town had been set aflame during their retreat, the damage contained only through the efforts of the remaining fire brigade and cogs that doubled as magicians who hadn’t fled with other refugees. Some areas had been reduced to rubble from E’ridian airship bombing runs, and areas of the outer wall had been utterly destroyed by the Daijal army before they relinquished the town.
That damage meant the civilians who remained, along with the allied soldiers, were at risk of revenant attacks from both within and without. The wardens had organized round-the-clock patrols guarding the broken section of the outer wall with the help of soldiers and magicians. Many areas of Fontaine couldn’t be cleared—it would take weeks to root out the walking dead, Ksenia had said—so everyone was restricted to certain areas that could be defended, billeting Ashion soldiers and Solarian legionnaires in abandoned homes and shops. The E’ridians remained on their airships, anchored in the remnants of the airfield or flying patrols.
Caris had made it to Fontaine only after General Votil had reluctantly confirmed that the Daijal army was in retreat and had no plans to try to retake the ruined town. She’d left a small town in the southeast where a bloodline had taken in refugees, the baron in charge there having been skeptical of who she was prior to the visit. He’d changed his opinion, for which Caris was grateful, but she’d left when it became clear that the push to retake Amari would soon begin.
She reached the top of the stairs and darted into the first open door with gas lamp light spilling out of it. Lore smiled wanly from her spot on the bed, wrapped in a thick blanket and looking far too thin and pale for Caris’ liking. Nathaniel crouched beside her, holding her hand in a comforting manner, and he turned his head to give Caris a relieved smile.
“She’s all right” was the first thing Nathaniel said.
“I can speak for myself,” Lore rasped.
“Yes, but you also need to rest.”
Caris smiled, lips quivering. She ignored the wetness in her eyes that blurred her vision as she hurried to Lore’s side. She bent to embrace the other woman with careful arms.
“Lore,” Caris choked out, the rest of what she wanted to say stuck in her throat.
“I’ll be all right,” Lore promised softly. “Nothing a bit of rest won’t cure.”
“More than that, if the healer has their way,” Nathaniel said.
Caris sniffled a little as she pulled back, shifting so she could kneel beside Nathaniel on the floor so Lore wouldn’t have to move her head too much and risk dizziness. She rested her hand on his thigh, the touch outside the bounds of propriety, but she figured she could be forgiven for the breach after everything that had occurred. “If it’s rest you need, we can send you to Cosian. Your mother and brother are still back there.”
Lore frowned fretfully at her, too-thin fingers clutching at the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “I should stay. I can help.”
“You were hurt. No one will think less of you if you need some time to heal. And I would like to know that you are safe.”
“Youaren’t safe out here. Not withrionetkasbeing activated throughout the continent.”
“We’re aware of the threat and have taken precautions,” Blaine said from the doorway as he and Honovi entered the room.
Lore made a face but couldn’t hide the exhaustion in her eyes. Still, she argued, because she was forever her mother’s daughter and a lady in her own right. “If our army and allies are pushing toward Amari, you’ll need what I know from all my years as a cog.”
Which was almost her entire life, Caris knew. Dureau had stayed with Meleri in Cosian, and while they had cogs working with the army, none would be more knowledgeable than Lore in her role as Mainspring within the Clockwork Brigade.
“If you’re determined to stay, then I won’t order you back to Cosian,” Caris said after a moment. “Do you think you could join us at the command meeting for a bit?”
Lore nodded. “I’m tired, but I feel as if all I’ve done is sleep. I need to stay awake. Listening to everyone argue will help with that.”
“The command meetings haven’t been that bad,” Honovi said mildly.
“No, sometimes they’re worse, especially when the Imperial generals want their way,” Blaine retorted.
“Their way has gained us much ground, even with only half the promised ranks from the emperor.”
“Just keep hot tea coming, and I’ll stay awake,” Lore said.
“Tea won’t help you coming off a forced sleep. You’d need stims for that, and I wouldn’t recommend those in your current state,” Ksenia said from the hallway. Caris glanced over her shoulder and watched as Blaine and Honovi stepped aside so the warden could enter the small room. “Forced sleep is used during medical operations, but keeping someone under for such a long period of time takes alchemist interference, and it isn’t without consequences.”
“The Imperial healer who saw to her cleared her,” Nathaniel said.
Ksenia snorted. “I’ll be the judge of Lore’s current state.”
Lore caught Caris’ eye, grimacing slightly. “You should go on ahead to the command meeting. I’ll meet you there. I’m sure Ksenia will need to be present as well, and she can escort me.”
