Bonus Content

Official character art from “The Black Crow Flies”

character art by M.T. Zimny

Catrice Aetos

Blaze Laskaris

Bonus Chapters

1. Lady Vivian Aetos
(suggested reading: after Prologue in “The Black Crow Flies”)

The hoard was massive—stretching across the horizon until it blocked out the setting sun beyond Ontiach’s walls. Vivian Aetos, Lady of the White District and wife to the Creator’s Prophet, had only caught a glimpse of the approaching army before the gates of her city had slammed shut, but one glimpse was enough. Her worse nightmare had come true; Warren Tenaris was here to kill them all.

Creator protect us.

Catrice shook in her arms, and Vivian buried her face in her daughter’s hair as she adjusted her hold around the eight-year-old. She was still so young, but old enough to sense the dread that had settled over the guards surrounding them like a thick mist. It permeated the air, soaking through Vivian’s defenses and prayers until it coated her lungs and suffocated her heart.

Ontiach had fallen into chaos around them. Men prepared to protect their families, running to the wall while carrying swords and bows to defend their home. Women ran from house to house, packing their few belongings and accounting for their children. Vivian should have been running too, but she couldn’t seem to gather the strength to move her feet. Her daughter’s weight felt more like she was holding the entire continent in her arms.

A boy whimpered beside her, and she glanced down at Izaak leaning into his brother’s side. Blaze, only two years older than her daughter, gripped his younger brother’s hand with a ferocity that told her he’d march against the threat beyond the gates himself if it meant Izaak would be safe. Vivian swallowed down a lump in her throat. If only Blaze knew it was his own father he’d be facing.

Heavens, how was she supposed to keep them all safe?

“Lady Vivian,” the captain of her guard, Lyle, said. His steady voice pulled her out of her trance, and she straightened. “We must get you out of here.”

“Yes. Of course.” She shook her head and set Catrice down. “I have to gather our things from the house.”

“My lady, we don’t have time. Lord Marcus ordered us to evacuate you and Lady Catrice immediately in case of an attack.”

Vivian lifted her chin. “I won’t leave our Testimonies to burn. The Creator’s Words must be preserved.”

Lyle looked as if he would object, and as the approaching horde’s footsteps began shaking the ground, Vivian felt her own faith falter. But then Lyle dropped his head in submission and shouted orders to the rest of the guards.

They fell into formation around her and the three children, ushering them deeper into the city. Vivian’s ears ached at the unsettling clang of the warning bell as they ran down the cobblestone road. The tall, sturdy stone walls of her home matched the city hall beside it and stood out from the surrounding wooden buildings.

She opened the front door of her home and pushed the children inside before entering herself. Lyle followed, but the rest of the guards stood outside the door. Packed bags of clothing, valuables, and necessities lay in a pile inside the entryway. Marcus had insisted she prepare them weeks ago just in case. She had prayed they wouldn’t have to use them. After passing the bags to the guards outside, she shut the door soundly.

“The Testimonies are in the trunk.” She pointed to the living area where they had hosted countless Fellowships, and Lyle moved across the room.

Her husband, Lord Marcus Aetos and Prophet of the Creator, ran down the staircase in front of her, securing a sword to his belt as he did. His dark curls were unkempt, and his brown eyes were red and swollen. When she’d left that morning, he’d been communing with the Creator, seeking wisdom and direction for their people and the growing animosity from the Council of Seven. Normally, her husband seemed calm and refreshed after spending time in the Creator’s presence. What had the Creator told him that morning to leave him this distraught?

“Marcus?” she barely breathed as he met her at the bottom of the stairs.

He wrapped his arms around her without responding, and his tall stature and warm chest brought a measure of comfort to her racing heart.

“It’s happening?” he asked.

Lady Vivian took a deep breath, taking in the familiar scent of him. “Yes.” She glanced over his shoulder to the children playing with Catrice’s toys in front of the fireplace. They were so young. So innocent. “Warren is already at our gates. Our defenses will hold for now, but we have to leave. I don’t understand how our scouts could have missed him.”

“The last unit never returned. I was hoping they were just delayed a few days, but I should have known better than to assume they’d stand a chance against his men.” Marcus frowned, pulling away. “I have to stay here with our people, but you and Catrice must go.”

She jerked back. “What?”

He didn’t falter. “Take Diana and the boys if you can. Lyle knows what to do.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I won’t leave you.”

Marcus smiled at her—a reassuring expression that failed at chasing away the pain in his eyes. He brushed a stray lock of her brown hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. His fingers drifted down her jawline, grazing her chin and moving up to her opposite cheekbone, as if trying to commit her features to memory. As if this would be the last time he saw her.

Tears welled in his eyes, but his voice remained steady as he said, “It’s the Creator’s will.”

No. No, it can’t be. Not this. Anything but this. Please don’t take him from me, Creator.

Catrice’s soft whimper pulled Vivian’s attention away from her husband. Her daughter approached her, gripping a doll against her chest. Blaze and Izaak following close behind, ushered by Lyle who seemed to be growing more anxious by the minute.

Marcus knelt in front of his daughter, placing his hands on her petite shoulders. “You and mother have to go away for a while. It will be scary at first, but you’ll see so many new places and meet so many new friends. Our people will take care of you, but I need you to take care of your mother.” He tapped the tip of her nose with his forefinger. “Can you do that for me?”

Confusion filled Catrice’s expression, but she pressed her lips together in determination and threw her arms around her father. “I promise.”

Marcus embraced her, brushing his fingers through her curls, and Vivian had to look away. If she broke now, she wasn’t sure she could put herself back together in time.

“That’s my girl,” he said, his deep voice trembling.

“My lord,” Lyle interrupted. Crashes sounded in the direction of the front gate. Vivian turned back to watch him adjust the bag of Testimonies he’d slung over his shoulder and nod toward the door, his brow creased in worry.

No. They needed more time. She needed more time.

Marcus stood. His gaze landed on the two brothers standing behind Catrice, and he reached out to ruffle Blaze’s mop of black hair. “Be good. Watch out for each other.”

Blaze jerked his head down and wrapped his arm around his brother. They had no idea what was coming.

Marcus reached into his pocket, withdrawing a rolled scroll, and held it out to her.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“My last Testimony.” He swallowed. “The Creator gave it to me this morning.”

Vivian stared at the scroll, sorrow and disbelief and anger welling up inside her. “No. No, I won’t take that.”

“Vivian—”

“No! You’re coming with us.”

He pulled her into his arms again, and this time she couldn’t stop the sobs from breaking free.

“Please…” The rest of Vivian’s words caught in her throat, and her tears soaked his leather armor as she held him closer. “I can’t do this on my own.”

“You won’t be alone. The Creator is with you.”

In her heart, she knew the words to be true, but they did little to calm the storm inside her.

But I want you too.

Another crash sounded from the direction of the front gate, and screams erupted around the house. She felt Marcus plant a firm kiss against her head before pulling away and pushing her toward the door.

“Lyle, make sure they get out of here,” he ordered, and it wasn’t just her husband speaking anymore, but the Lord of the White District.

“Yes, my lord.” Lyle marched forward, opening the door and herding the children outside. The three guards that remained were mounted now, no doubt having retrieved horses from the Aetos’s personal stables behind the house. Two horses remained riderless—one for Lyle and one for her and Catrice. Marcus truly wasn’t coming with them.

“Go,” her husband said from behind her. “Go, my love. It’s all right.”

She closed her eyes, fighting against the need to turn back to him. If she did, she would never leave. And she had to leave. For Catrice. For their people. For the future of Whittam.

“I love you,” she said.

Her dress shifted as he slipped something in her pocket: his last Testimony.

“I love you so much, Vivian. May the Creator bless you.”

With a shaky breath and the words of their people in her ears, she opened her eyes and stepped out the door.

Fires roared across the city, and the whistling sound of arrows filled the air. Heavens, had Warren’s men already breached the gate?

Lyle was helping Blaze and Izaak onto the horses with the other guards, and Vivian lifted Catrice onto the remaining steed. She swung herself up behind her daughter. As she took the reins into her hands, Marcus’s tall frame blew past the corner of her vision. He ran toward the front gate, drawing men to his side as he did and barking orders. Their people would die fighting by his side, and if given the chance, she knew he’d do the same for them.

“Lady Vivian,” Lyle’s voice once again broke through her thoughts, and she ripped her gaze away from her husband. “We’ll use the back gate to escape. Stay close.”

“We have to stop at the Laskaris house.”

“My lady…” Lyle shot a look at Blaze and Izaak as if considering his next words. “That is the first place he’ll go.”

“Which is why we can’t leave Diana.” She nodded toward the back of the city. “It’s on the way.”

“Lord Marcus gave me a direct order.”

“As am I, Lyle.”

Without another word, she drove her horse forward, forcing the rest of the guards to follow as she rode to Warren Tenaris’s old home. Soldiers rushed past her toward the front while families ran in every direction as they tried to gather their belongings and account for each other. A few flaming arrows littered rooftops, but so far, no blood marred the streets. That wouldn’t last long.

The familiar face of Diana Laskaris appeared in the window of one of the larger wooden houses close to the soldiers’ barracks at the back of the city. As soon as the small company stopped in front of the home, Blaze and Izaak slid from their mounts and ran toward the door as their aunt flung it wide open. Diana spread her arms, and the two boys crashed into her. After glancing at the mounted guards, she met Vivian’s gaze—an unspoken question lingering in the brown orbs.

Vivian shook her head. “He’s not coming.”

Diana opened her mouth to respond, but the whistling sound of a thousand arrows cut her off. She pulled the boys inside as screams sounded through the air and fire streamed around them. The sickening sound of arrows impaling flesh echoed behind Vivian, and she whipped her head around as one of her guards hit the ground.

No, they were too far from the front. Arrows shouldn’t reach them here. Not unless…

Screams sounded all around her now, the loudest coming from the back gate.

No, no, no…

They were surrounded.

Smoke filled the air, and flames danced from the rooftop of the Laskaris home. The riderless horse bucked beside her as more arrows rained down, and she narrowly pulled her own mount out of the way as the horse kicked out and slammed into the open door. The wooden slab crashed into its frame, shaking the house, and cutting her off from Diana and the boys.

Cracks riddled the warped frame, and the handle shook, but the door didn’t budge. They were trapped inside.

“No!” Vivian moved to dismount. She had to help them. She couldn’t lose them too.

Lyle shouted her name. “Lady Vivian, we have to leave now!” his voice was barely audible over the roar of the flames engulfing the thatch rooftop and nearby buildings.

It had all happened so fast. She didn’t even have time to warn them. Somewhere, in the muddled fervor of her mind, she registered Catrice crying.

They couldn’t stay here. They had to leave.

“My lady!” Lyle shouted. “We must go!”

Diana’s face appeared in the window again, followed by Blaze and Izaak’s. She was yelling something, pointing wildly at the back gate a few hundred yards away. She wanted them to go. Maybe they could still get out, but Vivian couldn’t help them, not without risking Catrice too.

Fresh tears streamed down Vivian’s face, cutting through the stinging smoke penetrating her eyes. “I’m sorry, my friend.”

She placed a protective hand over Catrice’s head and kicked her horse into a gallop toward the gate. The screeching sound of steel clashing against steel echoed from every direction. Black clad soldiers streamed through the back gate, and her heart leapt into her throat. They weren’t going to make it.

“Go!” Lyle screamed next to her. He removed the pack of Testimonies from his back, tossing it to her. She grabbed it midair, slinging the strap around her arm as he drew his sword. “Don’t stop!”

The two remaining guards broke away from her, joining their captain to cut through the line of enemies racing toward them. Blood sprayed as she continued forward, not daring to take her eyes off the gate and praying Catrice would remember nothing of the carnage around them. She kept her eyes on that gate… until another crash sounded behind her, far closer than it should’ve been.

In a moment that would haunt her for the rest of her days, she glanced over her shoulder. The Laskaris house was gone—a pile of rubble and smoldering flames left in its wake. Diana and the boys were nowhere in sight.

No. Creator, please, no…

Beyond the collapsed house, far away at the front of the city, a dark figure stood on top of the watchtower, standing tall and holding his sword in the air. He was clad in all black and a mask covered his face, but she knew who he was: Warren Tenaris—the man she’d once called friend, now her enemy. He looked over the burning city before turning in her direction. Slowly, he lowered his sword toward her, as if making a silent promise he would find them.

She turned away, refocusing on the gate. Two of her guards were gone, leaving only Lyle to clear the last few feet between her and the exit. They rode through the open gate together, one after the other. Only a short expanse separated the back of the city from the woods. They could make it. They were going to make it.

To her left, half a dozen mounted enemies galloped toward them. Vivian’s gut twisted. Even if they made it to the trees, they couldn’t outrun them all.

“Get to the woods.” Lyle panted. Sweat and blood coated his tan skin. “Whatever happens, keep riding.”

Before she could respond, Lyle broke away from her, driving his steed to meet the soldiers.

This time, alone with her daughter, Vivian didn’t look back.