Lannic Outpost was in poor shape. The defensive ditch had suffered significant erosion. It had collapsed and filled with dirty and debris. Since the diversion from the River Tyr had been clogged and dammed up by beaver activity, it was completely dry. Without a protective wall, and attacking army could march straight up to the wooden walls and bash them in.

  The staircase that led to the only accessible door had rotted mostly away and was a danger to climb. Some planks had fallen through, and a few support beams were little more than patchy sticks than the stout timbers they had used to be.

  As soon as they arrived, Aeolwyn ordered the survivors to set about repairing its defenses. Some he had working on shoring up the existing building, while others he set to building a new palisade wall around the entire outpost.

  After the battle, Aeolwyn sent a runner back to Fort Camulan to inform the General of the ambush. Aeolwyn still believed that they had a spy in their ranks that was reporting their troop movements directly to the Fenns. It wasn’t him or any of his group, as they were the only ones who knew about the infiltration of the Fenn outpost, and if the spy had gotten wind of that, they would surely have been captured.

  If the spy was someone in Flint’s group, he was going to have to root them out. He would ask Reiva to do it. He knew he could trust her, and he thought it was something she would be good at. She was clever and could handle herself in a fight if it came to that. Plus, as his liege woman, she was outside the rank structure of the army.

  Since he’d assumed command after arresting Flint, he moved into the outpost commander’s office. It was a small room with a desk and had an adjoining bedroom. There was another room directly across the hallway that he had assigned to Reiva so she wouldn’t be sleeping on his floor every night. Somehow, he doubted she would spend much time in her room. He was probably going to have to set up a cot in his office.

  Once he cleaned the office of all the trash and dead animals, it turned out to be quite serviceable. He chose to keep it as spartan as Alaric kept his. Not that he had much choice in the matter; he didn’t have much in the way of possessions.

  There was a knock on the door. He didn’t wonder who it was. He had sent Brakus to fetch Captain Flint. He wanted to talk to him and determine where his loyalties lay. He had Reiva stay in his bedroom, out of sight, but within earshot.

  “Come,” he said.

  The door opened and Brakus entered with Captain Flint. His unshaven face and unkempt hair gave him a haggard appearance. The downcast eyes didn’t do much to help the matter. He’d had all his weapons taken away but hadn’t been restrained.

  Brakus closed the door behind them but stayed in the room. Not exactly the choice Aeolwyn would have preferred, but he said nothing. Perhaps he thought he was protecting his prince.

  “I’d invite you to sit, but…,” Aeolwyn trailed off and gestured around him. There were no other chairs besides the one he was using.

  Flint shrugged. “I’m used to standing,” he said.

  “What happened out there, captain?” Aeolwyn asked. “Why were there no scouts? Why didn’t you take my advice when you marched us into the funnel?”

  “With all due respect, highness, you’re barely a soldier, and just a boy at that. How would it look to the other men if I looked to you for advice?”

  “Fair point,” Aeolwyn said. The soldiers who were put in command of other soldiers had to always be sure that those under them respected and trusted their decisions. If the command structure broke down, that could cause all sorts of havoc on the battlefield.

  “But I am not an ordinary 14-year-old,” he continued. “I have been trained in battlefield tactics by Sir Jom, who is widely regarded as one of the best tacticians of our time. I know you know that. My advice was sound, and still you marched us directly into an ambush.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you. I made an error in judgement.”

  “That’s a big lapse,” Aeolwyn said. “Two-thirds of our detachment is dead or wounded. I lost six members of my squad, and we were the first ones to close ranks and form a shield wall. I just don’t understand how a captain of your experience could have made such an error.”

  He sat back in his chair, unsure of how to ask the important question. He knew Flint would be offended by it, and Aeolwyn knew he wouldn’t be able to trust the answer. Still, he had to ask.

  “I’m going to come right out and ask, and I know you’re not going to like the question.” Aeolwyn hesitated. He was nervous. He hoped it didn’t show. “Are you working for the enemy, Captain? Are you on the payroll of the Fenns?”

  Flint stepped back, the shock on his face evident. He was clearly offended. Not surprising, Aeolwyn would have been offended too. But in a situation like this, it was a completely appropriate question to ask.

  “How dare you even suggest such a thing!”

  “Answer the question, captain,” Aeolwyn said, “or I will have no choice but to assume you are a traitor and take the appropriate actions.” Meaning being put the captain to the question to see what he had revealed, followed by a swift execution.

  “Of course I’m not working with the Fenns! They killed my entire family. I would sooner see all of them dead than take their tainted money!”

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  That was as good as any answer. He would have Reiva look into his backstory. If it was true, he could possibly check Captain Flint of the list of potential traitors, and just chalk his tactical error up to arrogance or incompetence.

  “Good,” he said. “I didn’t want to hang you. However, I am still keeping you under guard until I receive further instruction from General Alaric. You may go.”

  Brakus took him by the arm and ushered him out of the office. Brakus was a good soldier. Aeolwyn had put the grizzled veteran back in charge of the squad while he was acting as captain of the outpost.

  Not that there was much of the squad left. They had lost half their number, including Tyrik, Diryn, and Palrik. That hurt. Even though they had been prepared for the ambush, it didn’t stop the Fenns from getting a blisteringly hard strike in first. Aeolwyn himself was lucky he wasn’t dead. Not all the arrows had landed on his shield. Sefalus had taken a dozen of them. Fortunately, Egne had found him and healed him before the worst could have happened. He made a note to make sure he got his horse some armor. He couldn’t bear to take the beast into battle only to get him killed.

  Reiva stepped out of the bedroom and sat on the corner of his desk. He really needed to get another chair in here. It hadn’t been a priority though, since he didn’t expect to be having so many visitors.

  “Well, what do you think?” He leaned back in the chair, rocking it on its two back legs. It felt a little wobbly under his weight, but it held.

  “If he didn’t like you before, he hates you now,” she said, picking up the crystal globe he had found on the floor. It was the room’s single decoration. Aeolwyn still didn’t know what it was meant to be. Egne had scanned it and didn’t think it was anything magical, or he would have gotten rid of it.

  “I don’t need him to like me,” he answered.

  “No,” she said. “But he will become a problem if he’s released. He’ll have the opportunity to poison the ears of your men.”

  “I’m not going to just kill him if that’s what you’re suggesting. Not without proof of any wrongdoing.”

  “Of course not,” she said, “though that would be prudent. But there are other ways of getting him out of the way besides death.”

  “Like exile?” he asked. He wasn’t serious. He had been exiled himself and it had turned his whole life upside down. No, he wouldn’t do anything to Flint without proof.

  The door suddenly banged open, and Commander Boede strolled in followed closely by General Alaric. Aeolwyn was so shocked that he almost fell backwards out of the chair. He managed to save himself and get to his feet before that happened. He stood at attention and gave the two men a quick salute.

  Reiva just casually slid off the table and disappeared into his bedroom.

  “Now that assassin shares your bed?” Boede demanded.

  Is that what they thought? Not that the idea was out of the question—he was a young man, after all, but to just assume that he was humping her was presumptuous to say the least.

  “No, sir,” he said. “There isn’t much room in here, as you can see. I think she wanted to give us some space.”

  Alaric looked around. “Some chairs would be nice,” he said.

  Aeolwyn picked up his chair, took it around the desk and set it before the general. “It’s the only one I have, general.”

  The general waved it away. “Keep it, son.” Aeolwyn remained standing.

  He hadn’t expected the general and Boede to come in person. He had just informed them of what had happened and requested reinforcements, and instructions on what to do about Captain Flint. For them to come was unusual.

  “I didn’t expect you to come in person,” he said.

  “How could I not?” he said, walking over to the bedroom and closing the door. “A coordinated attack on our soil? I’ve already sent word to the king and the lord-general. This incursion was an act of war!”

  “It is that, sir.”

  He hadn’t considered the possibility that the king would need to know about the skirmish, but now that the general had mentioned it, of course he would. His son was involved, after all. That alone might warrant sending a messenger to the king.

  “Now explain to me why Captain Flint is in the brig, and why you are taking up residence in the commander’s office?” The general stepped closer, forcing Aeolwyn to step back. The general was tall for a man, and he absolutely towered over the young prince.

  “Like I said in my message, he led us directly into an ambush and was advising our soldiers to run to the outpost rather than stand and fight. If I didn’t intervene, we all would have been slaughtered.”

  “Was it your place to intervene?” Boede asked.

  “Someone had to do it.”

  “I am not happy about this, Aeolwyn,” the general said. “You disobeyed your commanding officer, and then supplanted him. We call that mutiny, and it’s a hangable offense.”

  They wouldn’t dare hang a Prince of the Realm. He was sure they would think of other, more creative punishments for him if they chose.

  “If you hang me, general, at least it will be just one man dead and not the entire detachment.”

  Commander Boede broke out into laughter. He stopped after the general shot a disagreeable glance at him. His face turned bright red. He closed his mouth and stood at attention.

  “Bold words, son,” the general said. “Coming from someone who knows we dare not hang them. There are other ways we could punish you, but not today. You did the proper thing, Aeolwyn. A move Sir Jom would definitely not have approved of. But you saved what was left of your men and brought them safe to Lannic Outpost.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, sir.”

  The general pulled out a rolled up note and handed it to him. Aeolwyn took it, but did not open it. He hoped it was a letter from home. “What’s this, sir?”

  “Your promotion to captain. You’ve done a good job in the short time you’ve been here at this outpost. Not only have you begun to clean up and repair the place, but you’ve prudently started on new defensive structures. Congratulations, captain, you’ve earned it.”

  Aeolwyn’s jaw dropped. A promotion to captain this soon was unheard of. He hadn’t done anything exemplary to prove it. Perhaps it was another order from his father. He stood tall and saluted again. “Thank you, sir.”

  The general turned to Boede. “Commander?”

  “Captain Aeolwyn,” Boede started, “We have brought you the reinforcements you requested. More men, some cavalry, archers, and six mages. Use them wisely.”

  “Thank you, commander,” Aeolwyn said.

  He would definitely make use of these new troops, although he would have to think about what to do with the cavalry should they be attacked. He wasn’t planning on meeting the enemy in open battle if he could help it, and cavalry wasn’t much use behind the walls of a fort. Though he could use them as scouts.

  The archers, on the other hand, would be invaluable. He would immediately post them along the fort’s walls as they were built. He wished he had more mages—he wanted a whole battery of them. They would be much more useful than simple archers.

  “Now where can I get a drink around here?” The general asked.

  Aeolwyn led the general down to the mess hall. It was still a heaping mess, but they had at least cleaned off a few tables and posted some cooks to keep the men fed. There wasn’t much in the way of liquor, but seeing the general, a few of the men mustered up some bottles of wine and some brandy. Aeolwyn didn’t know where they had stashed the liquor, but he was glad that they did. If the general was happy, he was happy.