A Country Falls (Greatest Thief 3) - Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Morning came far too soon.
I woke early, and was unable to fall back asleep. I tried to stay still in Tannix's arms and enjoy what time I had left, but anxious energy made me carefully slip out of bed. I got dressed in my loose sleeping pants and Tannix's old, soft tunic that I had claimed before our trip to Navire. In my pile of clothes from the day before, I found the Zianesa amulet and squeezed it in my palm. I had run out of chances to give it to him. It was now or never.
I climbed back onto the bed cautiously, not wanting to wake him. I settled down beside him with my legs crossed, and looked at him. He seemed so peaceful, breathing slowly and steadily, his mind free from what was going to happen.
I dreaded the coming months, even though I knew someone as important as Tannix wasn't likely going to be fighting in the front lines. Even though the knights were, by design, some of the best soldiers in the kingdom. Even though I knew most of their time with the army would be spent travelling or camping outside of the city of Deorun. Knowing all that did little to dispel the fear.
of me wished I was going with them. But Tannix wanted me safe, and I wanted to give him that peace of mind. The last thing I wanted was to be a distraction. So instead, I would stay in East Draulin with Mayah, both of us worrying and wondering and doing our best to think about other things.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed before Tannix stirred. With his eyes still closed, he reached for me, only to realize I wasn't lying beside him. After a moment he rubbed his face and opened his eyes. I stared at his beautiful blue eyes, trying to commit every detail to memory.
"How long have you been awake?" he asked.
I shrugged.
"Nobody's come to get me?"
I swallowed. "Not yet."
Tannix sat up. I let my gaze trail over his exposed chest as the blanket fell around his hips. I wanted to memorize everything about him, every line of muscle, the way his hair fell over his forehead, his eyes, everything—the same way I could recall maps in perfect detail.
When he reached for me, I caught his hand and pressed the amulet into his palm. He pulled back to look at it. "What is this?"
I shuffled a little closer, so my knees were touching him. "It's a Zianesa amulet. Joen helped me make it. Well... Joen made it, I just did the design." I poked the amulet, as if he wouldn't know where to look. "Um... the mountains. They represent Zianesa. If you wear it, she'll protect you. If your Goddess wouldn't be offended, I mean."
He flipped the amulet to inspect the back, but there was nothing there to see. "You made this?"
"Well, Joen—"
Tannix kissed me. It was fleeting, he turned his attention back to the amulet almost immediately. "I don't think she'll mind." He untied the knot in the cord, and then tied it around his neck. The amulet settled against his skin and I couldn't help but reach out to touch it.
Tannix caught my hand and held it against his chest. I could feel the steady thumping of his heart, and it brought to mind how fragile he was. How easily that thumping could stop.
"Finagale," he said softly, drawing me back from the dark thoughts. "I love you."
Then I was on his lap, so quickly I barely registered myself moving. I cupped his face in both hands and kissed him.
The remainder of the morning passed in a blur, and before long I was standing near Mayah on a huge staircase, watching the men prepare. Tandrin and Queen Navire were making a big show of it. Tandrin was dressed in heavy armour that was just a touch fancier than what his guards were wearing. A chainmail tunic, chest and back plates, shoulder armour and braces, metal boots and grieves. Tandrin finished off the look with a gold cloak, and instead of a helmet, his crown sat on his blond hair. Sir Eppson wore a short gold cape, to signify his position as guard captain. A younger rider, not one of Tandrin's knights, was sitting on a horse nearby holding a flagpole. The base of the pole rested in a sleeve near the young man's foot, so he wasn't bearing the entire weight of it with one hand.
Queen Navire and her knights, most of whom were women, were also dressed in their full armour. Navirian armour wasn't quite as bulky as Teltan armour. Dark, thick leather protected their arms and legs, while their slimmer metal chest and back plates were decorated with fine engravings. Queen Navire wore a sword on her hip, and two kukri knives on her back. Like Tandrin, she had a flagbearer.
All of the horses were just as armoured. They all had metal plating across their chests, up their necks and over their backs. A sort of mask covered their faces. Some of the horses wore sheets under their armour, coloured to match their rider's associated flag. They shuffled back and forth as soldiers moved around, fiddling with the horses' armour as well as their own.
Around the courtyard, other important leaders from both countries were getting prepared. I picked out a few flags I thought I recognized, but mostly I looked at the familiar blue and white flag of West Draulin. Tannix stood next to a huge black horse wearing a blue sheet. He was dressed almost exactly like Tandrin was in heavy, shiny armour, just with a blue cloak. There were slight variations in the way the knights were dressed. Acen wore his short blue cape. Jalor's left bracer was leather instead of metal, I assumed for his hunting bird, Fiar. The bird was perched on a pole that was attached to Jalor's saddle. Evrik's right arm had more protection than his left, ideally because his left arm would be protected by his shield. The twins wore thinner armour on their arms, and their horses each carried multiple extra quivers stuffed with arrows. Mandell and Joen had thick, bulky armour that made them look even bigger than they already were.
I was trying to think of the differences in armour and relate them to the things Acen had taught me to notice about the knights' fighting styles. I didn't notice Mayah had moved closer to me until she spoke.
"Let's go see them before they mount their horses."
They weren't near us, but men moved out of the way for Mayah. Or maybe for Angelys, who was following closely. When we reached Tannix and the knights, I expected Mayah to address all of them, so it surprised me when she walked straight for Jalor.
I was surprised, but I could tell from the look on Tannix's face that he wasn't. None of the knights were. They just watched quietly as Mayah pulled out a green ribbon that had been tucked in her sleeve. There was a chink in Jalor's armour between the leather bracer on his left forearm and the metal around his elbow. Mayah slipped the ribbon into the chink and tied it in place.
Jalor leaned down, clearly to give her a kiss, but before I could watch it happen Tannix tugged me closer for one of our own. The horses and knights surrounding us meant we were safely out of sight. I wanted to linger. I wanted the kiss to last. Then we were interrupted by a horn blowing from somewhere across the courtyard, and Tannix let me go.
"Tannix." There were so many things I wanted to say, but I couldn't think clearly enough to get any of them out. It would be months before I would see him again, if we were lucky, and I couldn't figure out what to say.
He tapped his breastplate, right above where the Zianesa amulet would be resting. "I'll be protected," he said. "And I'll write to you constantly."
"I can't read."
"You'll have to learn." Tannix put his hand on my shoulder. "Finn, you'll be safe here, I've arranged for you to be guarded. And if the worst does happen to me, Mayah will help you. You can go back to Zianna or stay with Mayah, or whatever you'd like. I just want you to be happy."
"You told Mayah to give Jalor someone to fight to come home to," I said. "So you're going to fight to come home to me. The worst isn't going to happen."
Tannix smiled wearily. "Of course it won't. I will come back to you."
"Jalor, Tannix." Acen was on his horse. "We have to go."
Tannix pulled me in for another brief kiss. I caught his hand as he stepped back.
Everything I wanted to say boiled down to three words. "I love you."
He squeezed my hand. Then he was gone, pulling himself up into his saddle.
I only managed to drag my eyes away from him to nod at each of the knights as they rode past, and to wish them luck. When they had all passed, I looked for Tannix again. He was already moving out of sight. There were so many people in the courtyard. I wanted to watch Tannix and the knights for as long as possible, but they were already gone.
"Finn," Mayah grabbed my arm and started to tug me back towards the staircase. "We'll have a better view from the ramparts."
Once she knew I was following, she hitched up her dress with one hand and took off at a run. We rushed back up the staircase with Angelys trailing behind. At the gates, Mayah waved her way through a pair of young Native Zian guards and started climbing a set of narrow, twisting stairs. When we left the tower to hurry onto the ramparts, the handful of guards stationed glanced us over before turning back to attention.
Mayah leaned into one of the crenellations, and I took my place beside her. From our new vantage point, we could see the procession that was making its way down East Draulin's main road. The Zianna and Navire flags flew at the front of the procession, but not far behind we could make out West Draulin's flag. Even if we couldn't make out the individual riders very clearly, it was comforting to at least know where to look.
Slowly, the portion of the army that had been camped out in the castle grounds fell into place. The procession continued down the road, and we kept watching. We lost sight of West Draulin's flag when the front of the process turned to leave the city, as they were hidden behind East Draulin's walls. Still, we watched the other soldiers follow along like a slow-moving river.
Most of the army had been camped outside. It took some time, but eventually the nobles at the head of the procession were far enough from the city that we could see them over the walls. They moved farther and farther away as the rest of the army joined the line.
Mayah and I watched until the flags were nothing but specks, and until the army looked like just a dark line between the ocean and the desert. We hadn't said a word to each other the whole time. If Mayah hadn't known about me and Tannix before, she certainly did now. Just as I finally knew which knight had caught her eye. It was something that bonded us, as we stood together watching the men we loved ride off to war. Something we didn't have to discuss, but we both felt.
It was Mayah who finally sighed and turned to head back inside. I might have lingered even longer on the wall, if she hadn't gasped in surprise.
"Who are you?"
A voice I hadn't expected to hear replied, "Finn's guard, my lady."
Despite how emotionally draining the day had been, I remembered Tannix's brief comment about arranging for me to be guarded, and I laughed. It felt good. I turned around, crossing my arms.
"Maybe you should tell her your name?"
He flashed me a look, then dipped in a brief bow. "I'm sorry, my lady. My name is Castin."
"He's my brother," I added.
And I stepped forward to hug him.