Free Where Serpents Strike (Children of the Falls Vol. 1) by CW Thomas Page A

brother
that Kingsley had betrayed the realm, bowed to the high king just
like those cowards in Turnberry and Tranent had done. Fools, the
lot of them. Bloody fools.”
    “That’s not true,” Brayden said. “Our father
was faithful to the old kings to the very end.”
    “My lady,” Khalous began, taking her hand,
“we don’t have much time. The high king’s army will be swarming
these hills before the day is over. You need to leave this
place.”
    She lay back down. “We knew this was coming.
For three years we’ve waited for the Black King’s tide. What can we
do but stand our ground and show them true courage, a courage that
will never bow?” Earline closed her eyes and lay still, so still
that, for a moment, it looked as though she had died. At last her
mouth opened and she spoke in a soft, tearful tone, “Take Clint
with you. Please.”
    Khalous stood and addressed the Montrosian
soldier. “Can we move her?”
    The soldier wagged his head in despair.
“She’s too weak. And the infection is…” He stopped.
    Brayden could see the defeat on Khalous’
face. He put a hand on Brayden’s shoulder and said, “Take your
sisters and your brother and go rest your legs for a moment.”
    Brayden would have much rather overheard the
rest of their conversation, but now that the company had stopped he
felt the weariness of their long journey creeping over him. When he
sat down on a stump next to the empty fire pit he wasn’t sure he
would be able to get back up.
    His siblings said nothing as they waited
next to him. Lia’s eyes were downcast, devoid of the passion and
proclivity to mischief that usually twinkled behind her hazel gaze.
Dana stared at her lap as she sat on her knees in the dirt, her
pale beauty marred by old tears that had carved paths along her
dusty cheeks.
    “He’s not really coming with us, is he?”
asked Broderick as he sulked with his chin in his hands. “Clint.
He’s not coming, right?”
    “If we leave him here the black vipers will
get him,” Brayden said.
    “So?” said. Lia.
    At first, none of them responded, but then
Broderick sniggered. Not long after that Dana giggled, though
Brayden could tell that she was trying her hardest to hide it. The
moment of levity that followed as all four of them broke down into
a fit of snickers felt out of place, almost rude, but Brayden
couldn’t help it.
    Their amusement faded almost as quickly as
it had come over them.
    “Do you think Brynlee and Scarlett are all
right?” Lia asked.
    Dana put her arm around her and rubbed her
shoulder. “I hope so, Little Bit.”
    Lia squirmed. “Stop calling me that.”
    “Why?” Dana asked, hugging her closer.
“Because you’re such a little bit of charm?”
    “Stop.”
    “A little bit of pretty cute?”
    “Dana!”
    Broderick chortled. “Plus you’re about as
tall as the dog.”
    “Shut up!”
    Broderick pointed to a sheathed knife tucked
into Brayden’s belt. “Hey, why do you have father’s dagger?”
    Brayden looked down at the weapon, having
almost forgotten that he slipped it from Kingsley’s corpse back in
Aberdour. His mind went blank as he tried to think of a response to
his brother’s question.
    He pulled the sheath out from his belt and
withdrew the blade halfway as Broderick and his sisters
watched.
    “I don’t know,” he muttered.
    Brayden saw Khalous walking over to them
when Ariella, one of the nun’s from Aberdour’s orphanage, stepped
in front of him. The petite nun had cast aside her linen head
covering, exposing a tousled ponytail of gold, brown, and gray that
hung midway down her back. Her brown and tan robes were covered
with dark stains and muddy smears.
    “The boy with the arrow wound,” she said
just loud enough that Brayden could hear. “He has lost too much
blood. I’m afraid we can’t take him any further.”
    Khalous frowned. “Are there any other
injured who can’t carry on?”
    “Some,” Ariella said. “Most will not survive
the day even if we