Page 87 of Obsidian Throne
“Sir Theodore sent me with a message,” he said quietly.
“About what?” I asked, hearing the steel behind my words.
He met my gaze evenly, begrudgingly raising my respect for him. “Wolf has betrayed you.”
Cold dread seeped through my body.Nils.
The man continued. “Their forces, along with Elk’s, march toward Bear as we speak.”
“He’s both warning me of an invasion and facilitating it?” I asked, suspicion lacing my tone.
“Iiro still controls Elk’s forces, and Sir Theodore’s attempts to sway him have been...unsuccessful.”
“If Iiro controls Elk’s forces, why are you here?” I asked. “Betraying him?”
The man lifted his chin. “Because I am loyal to Sir Theodore. And to your wife.”
That last part gave me pause, given the earnestness with which he said it.
“What possible loyalty could you have toward a Lochlannian princess?” I demanded.
And storms help this man if it had anything to do with her relationship with Korhonan.
Once again, he met my eyes without hesitation. “Your wife saved my life during the Unclanned attack. I had never shown her a single shred of kindness, and she picked up a dead man’s sword and killed a man who was about to kill me.”
He sounded sincere, and that certainly sounded like Rowan.
Taking him at his word was dangerous, though.
If we abandoned the front here, Iiro could overwhelm Bear from the southwest. But if the man was telling the truth and forces were coming from the southeastern border, they could march straight for the estate.
If they captured that, the war was over for Bear, and there was no hope of victory for the other clans without us.
Worse still, we had no allies on that side. Lynx and Crane were trapped fighting on the other side of this battle.
Bison remained completely neutral in this conflict, and Lochlann, even if I was willing to call for their aid and King Logan was willing to give it, would take weeks to arrive through the tunnels.
Even with the defenses of the estate, it would be a slaughter if we didn’t bring in extra forces.
Still, we couldn’t move everyone from the line here without adding the substantial line of troops Iiro had on this end to that attack.
Hell, even if we did move most of our troops there, if Wolf and Elk attacked together, they would easily overwhelm the castle.
Ifthe man was telling the truth.
He examined my features, then slowly reached toward his jacket. “I’m only going for a note,” he said.
I nodded, and he pulled out a folded piece of parchment, handing it over to me. The handwriting was familiar from all the letters Korhonan had written Rowan.
For everything I had ever thought about him, I didn’t honestly believe he would betray anyone on this level, or...as much as I hated to admit it, put Rowan in any kind of danger.
He did love her, and I couldn’t actually bring myself to hate him for that right now. Not when I read his note.
It was a hastily sketched map with X’s drawn for where the troops were, something any soldier learned how to do, and then a single line of words.
He wants revenge on both of you.
That explained why he was warning me, aside from just basic decency. Rowan was a direct target of this attack, which I could have guessed. But having it confirmed…