But he could fly, and the vord had taken away the Alerans’ ability to spare their young from the deadly realities at hand. At least he’d been given a duty he could perform rather than simply being relegated to the ranks of Knights Aeris.

Amara arrowed neatly down to the command group, positioned at the center of the wall’s north-south axis. Her landing hardly stirred the capes of the elite Knights Ferrous and Terra serving as bodyguards for the command staff. Evidently, word of how she had dealt with the young idiot outside the Princeps’ tent had spread, at least enough to ensure that she would be readily recognized. The leader of the contingent was waving her past before she’d settled her weight completely onto her feet again.

Amara brushed past them with a nod, settling her own sword a little more comfortably on her hip. She had declined the offer of a suit of lorica. A body had to be conditioned to bear its weight over the course of months of effort, and Amara had not had that kind of time to spare. Instead, she wore a far-more-comfortable leather coat lined with small plates of light, strong steel. It would almost certainly preserve her hide against an arrow or the slash of a scalpel-edged dueling blade.

Pity the vord didn’t fight with either of those weapons.

Amara strode forward to the low observation platform built upon the wall in lieu of an actual tower and mounted the steps to it rapidly.

“I’m simply saying that it’s the sort of thing that one can’t take too seriously,” High Lord Riva was saying. The rather dumpy Lord of Riva looked a bit out of place in Legion lorica, finely made as it might be. “Bloody crows, man,” he sputtered. “You’ve built a bloody campaign fortress right in my own backyard!”

“Good thing I did, too,” Bernard said mildly, through his stiffened jaw.

Lord Riva scowled, and said, “I never even appointed you. Bloody Sextus did it, interfering old busybody.”

“Mmhmm,” Bernard agreed. “Good thing he did, too.”

Riva gave him a harsh look that faded quickly as he let out an exasperated sigh. “Well. You tried to warn us about the vord, didn’t you?”

“We’re all trying to do our best to serve the Realm and our people, sir,” Bernard said. He turned and smiled at Amara as she joined them. “My lady.”

She smiled and touched his hand briefly. “Shouldn’t we sound battle positions?”

“Enemy isn’t here yet,” Bernard said, his voice placid. “Men stand around with swords in their hands for a few hours, they get nervous, tired, start wondering why some fool gave the order for no reason.” He winced and touched his fingertips to his jaw as the effort of so many words pained him. “Won’t hurt to wait. Excuse me.”