Orugi was next. He joined her on top of The Saint. ‘Morning, sarge,’ he said as he lowered himself down.

‘Where’s Baine?’ she said.

Orugi pointed with his chin across to the line where Baine was craning his neck to see what was on offer. She laughed as she shovelled more food in. Across the wire, in the neighbouring camp they could see a group of irregular soldiers staring towards the Cadians.

‘Who are they?’

Orugi put a hand up to shade his face. ‘Not sure.’

Minka shovelled in another mouthful, kept looking. No doubt they’d be one of the local regiments.

Baine came up. ‘Look at this!’ he said. ‘What do they think I am?’ He clambered up and took his place and then fell silent as he started eating.

One by one, their platoon members left the canteen queue and made their way over, sitting on the ground or climbing up for a place on their Chimera. Dido had been talking to the canteen staff and came over with the air of someone who knew something. She pointed across to the neighbouring camp.

‘Drookians,’ she said.

Minka suddenly felt everyone’s eyes on her. ‘Same lot we ran into yesterday?’

Dido shrugged. It was hard to tell. Either way, Drookians had a reputation for theft and disorder. ‘Better set a guard,’ Dido said. She slapped Minka on the arm. ‘Your squad can start.’

‘Well done, sarge,’ Dreno said.

Minka didn’t pause. ‘Pleasure. You and Orugi are first up. Off you go.’

‘Now?’ Orugi said.

‘Now.’

The rest of Minka’s squad watched them move off to the peri­meter wires. They sat on The Saint as the sun rose, scraping out the last of the slab and chewing their hardtack.

The sun lit the sky a pale blue and green. Silhouetted against it, Minka could see a distant forest of Earthshaker barrels, stretching out to either horizon. ‘The poorer the infantry, the more artillery you need,’ she said.

Beyond were the great piles of clouds. But something was not right with the way the light fell on them. Someone pointed. Another cursed. Minka put her hardtack down, suddenly understanding. They were not clouds.

That was the island fortress – Crannog Mons, rising up like a lonely mountain into the blue sky.

‘Holy Throne!’ Baine said.

It was one thing to hear about it, but another to see it in the flesh. No chart or pict-image could convey its impregnable nature. Golden slanting sunlight struck the island and threw its many crags and statues and bastions into sharp relief. It filled the hori­zon before them.

From the Cadians about her there was awed silence.

It was Viktor who broke it. ‘How long has this siege been going on for?’

‘Four years,’ Minka told them.

‘They’ve barely scratched it,’ Viktor said.