“Oh, and ten gold pieces from the Prince himself for any man who captures an elf, present company excepted,” he finished, touching his hand to his shako in salute.
Konowa returned it, unable to entirely hide a smile.
“By the left…move your arses!” The soldiers followed Arkhorn, the bayonets on the end of some of their muskets wreathed in black flame.
Konowa recognized a couple of them as they marched past, including the towering form of Private Hrem Vulhber. Konowa nodded, but the soldier only stared at him for a moment before carrying on. It was insubordination, but Konowa was letting a lot of things go these days. The sooner they were done with this island, the sooner they could finally land in the Hasshugeb Expanse and join up with the original Iron Elves. Then the Shadow Monarch would truly reap the whirlwind She had created.
FOUR
He’s done it again!” Visyna shouted as the boat she was in ground to a halt on the beach. She stood near the bow weaving a pattern from the natural energy around her, creating the artificial dawn that now hung above them. Arrows zipped past her head, but a power curved their path around her. “He promised he wouldn’t go charging ahead like that.”
“You mean Private Renwar?” Rallie said, looking up from the sheaf of papers she was sketching on with a feather quill. The drawing of Visyna standing in the bow pulsated on the paper. Dark and light ebbed and flowed across the page as energy coursed around them.
Visyna waited for all the soldiers to jump out of the boat before she answered. “You know who I mean, Rallie.”
“He’s fighting demons we can’t see,” Rallie said, flourishing her quill as a rakke burst through the line of Iron Elves and charged the boat. The beast saw the two women alone and howled, its maw opening wider in anticipation.