“No,” she said. “I want you here. I need you here. But if Breckton lays siege, we’ll eventually fall, and by then it’ll be too late for you to get away. Our only hope is if Alric’s forces can turn Breckton’s attention away from us.”

He nodded and his hand played with the amulet around his neck. “I suppose it doesn’t matter where I go for a while.”

“What do you mean?”

“Esrahaddon was in Gaunt’s camp. He’s been helping the Nationalists.”

“Did you tell him about the heir?”

Hadrian nodded. “And you were right. The heir is alive. I think he’s Degan Gaunt.”

“Degan Gaunt is the heir?”

“Funny, huh? The voice of the common man is also the heir to the imperial throne. There was another child born that night. The midwife took the surviving twin. No one else knew. I’ve no idea how Esrahaddon figured it out, but that explains why he’s been helping Gaunt.”

“Where is Esrahaddon now?”

“Don’t know. I haven’t seen him since the battle started.”

“You don’t think …”

“Hmm? Oh no. I’m sure he’s fine. He hung back when we engaged Dermont’s forces. I suspect he’s off to find Gaunt and will contact me and Royce once he does.” Hadrian sighed. “I wish my father could have known he didn’t fail after all.

“Anyway, I’ll take care of things tonight before I leave. I’ll put one of the regiment captains in charge of the army. There’s a guy named Renquist who seems intelligent. I’ll have him see to the walls, patch up the stonework, ready gate defenses, put up sentries, guards, and archers. He should know how to do all of that. And I’ll put together a list of things you’ll want to do, like bring the entire army and the surrounding farmers within the city walls and seal it up. You should do that right away.”

“You’ll be leaving in the morning, then?”

He nodded. “Doubt I’ll see you again before I go, so I’ll say goodbye now. You’ve done the impossible, Arista—excuse me—Your Highness.”

“Arista is just fine,” she told him. “I’m going to miss you.” It was all she could say. Words were too small to express gratitude so immense.

He opened his mouth but hesitated. He smiled then and said, “Take care of yourself, Your Highness.”

In her dream, Thrace could see the beast coming for her father. He stood smiling warmly at her, his back to the monster. She tried to scream for him to run, but only a soft muffled moan escaped. She tried to wave her arms and draw his attention to the danger, but her limbs were heavy as lead and refused to move. She tried to run to him, but her feet were stuck, frozen in place.

The beast had no trouble moving.