The night sky shone with stars. Their light illuminated the roofs of the countless buildings laid out before him. A black scar now ran through the city where the fire had raged for hours before burning itself out. They had managed to keep it contained to a single city block but everything there was gone. Grim could see the survivors picking through the ashes. They looked like ants foraging for food at this height. He sighed and took another drink from the flask he held. The alcohol burned his tender throat fiercely, but it distracted from the pain echoing through his body. His left arm resembled a single mottled bruise.

Beyond the city wall, deep gashes were drawn through the slums as if a giant were tracing his finger through sand. These marked where the tunnels beneath the earth had been collapsed and were the graves of over two thousand men. Grim poured a dash of whiskey over the parapets, watching as the liquid fell down the high cliff and into the crashing waves.

“To the dead,” he whispered. They may have been pox ridden southern scum but he’d fought with them today and would honor their death. Soft footsteps padded up to him across the dirt of the practice field. Grim grumbled under his breath. He was here because nobody else was supposed to be at this hour.

He looked over his shoulder to see his sister approaching. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was disheveled, and her dress was as wrinkled as it was plain. The sight made him frown and his mood darkened. As she approached, she opened her mouth to speak.

Grim stepped forward and embraced her before she could. She was cold, her skin like ice to the touch. She tensed in his arms then slowly relaxed and returned his hug. “Father won’t tell me what happened in the mansion,” she whispered.

Grim released her from his embrace. “Is that why you’re here?”

Ilyena shook her head. Only part of why. “I’ve been looking for you for the past hour.” She crossed her arms, fighting the urge to shiver.

Grim shrugged the cloak off his shoulders and wrapped the fur around her. The girl pulled it tight around her and huddled near the wall. Grim leaned against the cold stone next to her. “Everyone there is dead.”

“Did she suffer?”

Grim didn’t have to ask who she meant. He paused. “No.”

They both knew that for the lie it was. A long moment passed as they looked down at the city.

Ilyena ran a hand along the rampart. “I used to think the view up here was so beautiful, now it just fills me with dread.”

“Monsters hide in the dark,” Grim agreed.

Ilyena shivered and Grim was unsure whether it was from the cold. “Promise me something, Grim?”

Grim looked to her. She stepped closer to him, so near that the fog of her breath billowed before his eyes. “When the time comes, kill them all.”

Grim didn’t answer, only staring into her grey eyes. When he didn’t respond, she spoke again. “Father wants you.”

Grim drained the rest of the flask in a single gulp, then tossed it over the edge of the wall. He let out a deep breath. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

She led him across the yard and into the castle. The halls were quiet, as if the occupants were too scared to speak above a whisper. The clack of his boots against the stone stood in stark contrast to the soft padding of his sister’s steps. The castle was depleted of soldiers. The majority of the garrison was in the city trying to ensure the streets didn’t explode into anarchy. The lack of guards made Grim nervous. Their position on the cliff made them secure from attack, but the Marshal had thought the same of his home, didn’t he?

Grim ran a finger across the haft of his axe, eyes darting across the nearby shadows. Ilyena stopped before him and took his other hand in hers. “Calm down,” she whispered, “It’s okay.”

Grim slowed down his rapid breathing. He didn’t realize how worked up he had been getting until she pointed it out. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He released his white-knuckled grip from the axe.

She frowned up at him.

“I’m okay,” he said.

She bit her lip but didn’t say anything. He followed her up the stairwell to the fifth floor where the family quarters were held. Soldiers were in evidence here. One of the empty rooms were flanked by a pair of haggard-looking Greencloaks while Captain Roland stood watch outside his father’s door. He was mostly watching the Greencloaks. It galled Grim that the Marshal was allowed to temporarily reside in the family quarters but he was not. The Earl was treating him with too much respect. They were planning on slitting the man’s throat in a few short months after all.

Roland’s gaze shifted to Grim as they approached. “Seem’s like you aren’t completely worthless after all. My mistake.” Grim narrowed his eyes at the man. Roland ignored him. “Heard you gave Edgar the Briar. A good man from a good line and a welcome addition.” He nodded to the door. “Earl’s inside.”

The Captain opened the door for Ilyena and let it close on Grim. Grim fought the urge to get into a fight outside his Father’s door. One that he admittedly probably wouldn’t win. His pride bristled as the door closed behind him.

All thoughts of pride disappeared as his eyes locked on the boy he had found in his room a few night’s hence. What was his name? Kid?

The boy stared at him. His eyes looked hollow, like the eyes of men he’d seen during the War. Men who had seen too much and loved too little. The sight twisted Grim’s gut. He wondered if Kid was thinking similar thoughts while looking at him. The boy rose to his feet as Ilyena approached, letting her take the second sitting chair by the fire. Grim joined the boy, standing by the fire.

The Earl let the silence linger, taking a sip from his goblet.

Grim had no patience for games tonight. “What do you want? And why is there a Son here?”

The Earl’s eyes narrowed. “The Son is here because he seeks protection that I once offered him.”

“Alright, then why is he here?”

“Because he has information that is of interest to us.” The Earl gestured to Kid, granting him permission to speak.

Grim’s gaze shifted to the boy. He shrunk beneath the combined gazes of the Thorne household. Kid let out a deep breath and seemed to find his courage. “I can take you to the Son’s Headquarters and show you many of the remaining entrances. I know faces, names, where some of their operations are.”

Grim raised an eyebrow. “And why are you coming to us with this?”

“Because Marc compelled me to kill myself after the ritual. I have nowhere else to take it and it’s all I have to give in return for safety.”

Compelling reason. Ilyena spoke up. “Please tell me we aren’t considering attacking how the Regulars did?”

Rodger Thorne shook his head. “No, I have no desire to bury my soldiers. And I don’t want us to explicitly side with the Greencloaks. To say that it’d upset the people would be an understatement. We are maintaining law and order, not enforcing the will of the King. I don’t have the stomach to spill the blood of men who will help us in the months to come.”

Kid’s eyes widened at the admission. Ilyena clutched the arms of her chair and leaned forward. “So, they will see no punishment for the atrocity they committed today?”

“Such is war,” the Earl answered, “Like life, it isn’t fair.”

She gritted her teeth. “At least the ringleaders then, we could draw them out and-”

The Earl raised a hand, cutting her off. “You speak from the heart at the expense of your mind. Killing them would alienate the whole movement from us.”

Ilyena’s brow furrowed but she said nothing more. Grim looked to Kid. “Should we even be talking about this with him?” The boy’s eyes were so wide they seemed about to burst from his skull.

The Earl glanced at Kid. “His fate is tied to ours now. If he leaves our protection he’ll be dead within days and if he talks then it’s baseless rumors. Followed by death.”

The boy swallowed, looking at his feet.

The Earl turned to Grim. “You once wanted to talk to the Sons. Now’s your chance.”

Grim let out a deep breath, remembering the blackened eyes. “What would you have me say to them?”

His father steepled his fingers, considering his words carefully. “That we demand peace be held within the Inner city. Commerce is not to be interrupted and massacres are not to be held.” The Earl took a long drink from his wine glass. “And, should the King send a legion to purge the city, we will stand with them in defending it.”

“What about the Grain?”

The Earl ran a hand across his face. “I’ll not watch them rape my home again. If they come, we will face them and make do. As all men must.”

“I’m sure those words will be great consolation to their families,” Ilyena said.

“More than Venar would, should the king be angered. You’ve never met Vitran girl. He is no fop of a king and not one to be crossed lightly. I have little doubt he’ll send a legion of ‘peacekeepers’ to ‘pacify’ the populace. Longreen’s head may even roll for such a failure.”

Ilyena shifted forward in her chair. “Then why not wait for the king’s word to arrive? We could try to bring Longreen to our side. He could sway the nobility camped on our lands and make this a proper civil war instead of a rebellion. We would have all the castles in the Rills, and legitimacy without having to fight for it.”

Grim snorted. “You’d ask our people to fight to keep the collar around their throat?”

“I’d ask them to fight for concessions instead of vengeance. Boreal and Caldea achieved autonomy over time.”

Grim shifted the axe at his hip. “Only because they hate each other more than they hate Venar and the Sun Kings were always happy to watch them kill each other so long as they paid their taxes.”

“You twist my words.”

“You twist their motives.”

“Enough,” the Earl said, silencing them both. “Longreen’s son is the king’s guest in Venar. Unless that changes, I don’t ever see him on our side. Ilyena, the plan has been decided.”

She pursed her lips but said nothing more. Grim felt little satisfaction from the outcome. “When do I go?”

“Tomorrow.” The Earl’s eyes drifted to Kid who slunk by the wall near the fireplace, feigning disinterest. “Ilyena, get the boy properly clothed and find him a bunk in the barracks. Inform Captain Edgar that he will be responsible for the boy’s training since he is in no condition to fight.”

Kid’s eyes widened a smidge. “Training?”

The Earl’s gaze turned to Kid and the boy’s eyes fell to the floor. Rodger Thorne rose to his feet and walked to Kid. He put a hand under Kid’s chin and forced eye contact. “I am your lord now and that means you must obey me in all things. If fearing me helps, then so be it. But never let that fear show. You are a part of my household and must act as such.” He removed his hand.

Kid maintained eye contact. Though he looked on the edge of bolting for the door. The Earl nodded and gestured to the door. Ilyena rose to her feet and led Kid from the room. The door clicked shut softly behind them. Grim looked at the door. “You’re making him a guardsman?”

“Never said I thought he’d be good at it. It’s a convenient cover for why he’s here.” He gestured to the chair. “Sit.”

Grim sat. “Was there something else you need of me?”

The Earl nodded, finishing the last of his wine. “Should this Marc character refuse our offer and you think you can come out of the meeting alive, kill him.”

“I thought you told Ilyena that you didn’t want to alienate the Sons?”

“Only because I don’t want her to do something foolish. Gods it feels strange, saying that to you.”

Grim smirked and the edges of his father’s lips curled upward. “We could just tell them your plan,” Grim said, “They would listen.”

“And by midday tomorrow, the entire city would know. And within a fortnight, the King as well. We are not without evidence of treachery. Somewhere in the port shipping logs is the name of the R.S Valdis, a known ship of a Taran councilor. A smart man would also inquire with the Forgers Guild about recent orders. Of which, our name is on every one. It paints quite the damning picture. Don’t think that our city is without spies to investigate such rumors.”

The Earl sighed and ran a hand through his greying hair. “If the war starts now, I want our first battle to be against a single legion unprepared rather than a dozen howling for our blood.”

Grim nodded. “I understand.”

“Then go rest.”