Ember Hold sat carved into the side of the northern crags, a monolithic fortress of stone and snow. It was said that its walls had never fallen .. not in the last war, not to siege nor flame. And at its heart, in a candlelit chamber lined with scrolls and steel, the Third Knight of the Marshal sat in silence.
Caldus had commanded the Ember Host for twenty winters. His unit was the Marshal's hammer, forged in war, tempered in loyalty. He had heard of the other two, Beltran found dead in his quarters, and Adrian, returned to his garrison lashed to a horse, lifeless and cold. Their names were not just officers; they were symbols.
So when the door creaked softly open behind him, Caldus had already drawn his blade.
Zee stepped from the shadows.
Not through the front gate. Not this time. He'd left Sevi and Torren behind. The forged credentials would be worthless now, not after the deaths of two knights. Instead, he crept through carved tunnels and broken ducts, into the fortress' veins.
Caldus's eyes locked onto him.
"So. You're him. The flame in the dark. The knife in the Marshal's ribs."
Zee didn't deny it. "Three chains held him. Two are broken. You are the last."
The Third Knight stood slowly, blade in hand, but not raised. He studied Zee, the silence between them heavy with calculation.
Then, to Zee's surprise, Caldus spoke with weary pragmatism. "You could kill me, yes. Perhaps before my men arrive. But even then, this unit would fight. And if I call them now..."
Zee nodded. "Then I'll die too."
A pause. A deep, measured pause.
Caldus lowered his weapon a fraction.
"I have no love for the King. Not anymore. I stayed for my soldiers. For the oath. But if the war is already lost..."
He turned his eyes toward the distant balcony, where torchlight flickered.
"If I take the Ember Host and march north, far from this... will you let us go?"
Zee's gaze remained steady. "If you disappear. No tricks. No riders."
Caldus gave a slow nod. "Then it's done."
He turned and strode to the balcony, voice rising into the night.
"Soldiers of the Ember Host! Orders from the Marshal! We march north by dawn. Pack the standards. Douse the fires."
A pause.
"No questions. Move."
Below, the fortress stirred like a waking beast. Men moved. Fires dimmed. The strongest spear in the kingdom... vanished.
Zee stood by the ridge an hour later, Sevi beside him, quiet. Torren crouched nearby, peering through a spyglass.
The fortress below emptied steadily.
"Do you trust him?" Torren asked, eyes never leaving the torches.
Zee didn't answer. Not with words.
Only with silence.
And the north grew darker still.