An Oath of Brothers by Morgan Rice Page B

homeland in freedom. We each share the same oppressor.”
    Darius looked back at her, clearly touched, and Bokbu stepped forward in the midst of the group and stood there, facing her in the thick silence, all of their people watching.
    “We see here today what a great decision we made to take you in,” he said proudly. “You have rewarded us far beyond our dreams, and we have been greatly rewarded. Your reputation, you of the Ring, as honorable and true warriors, has held true. And we are forever in your debt.”
    He took a deep breath.
    “We do need your help,” he continued. “But more men on the battlefield is not what we need. More of your men will not be enough—not with the war that is coming. If you truly wish to help our cause, what we really need is for you to find us reinforcements. If we are to stand a chance, we will need tens of thousands of men to come to our aid.”
    Gwen stared back, wide-eyed.
    “And where are we to find these tens of thousands of knights?”
    Bokbu looked back grimly.
    “If there exists anywhere a city of free men within the Empire, a city willing to come to our aid—and that is a big if —then it would lie within the second Ring.”
    Gwen stared back, puzzled.
    “What are you asking of us?” she asked.
    Bokbu stared back, solemn.
    “If you truly wish to help us,” he said, “I ask you to embark on an impossible mission. I ask you to do something even harder and more dangerous than joining us on the battlefield. I ask you to embark on your original plan, on the quest on which you were to embark today. I ask you to cross the Great Waste; to seek out the Second Ring; and if you make it there alive, if it even exists, to convince their armies to rally to our cause. That is the only chance we’d stand of winning this war.”
    He stared back, somber, the silence so thick that all Gwen could hear was the wind rustling through the desert.
    “No one has ever crossed the Great Waste,” he continued. “No one has ever confirmed the Second Ring even exists. It is an impossible task. A march to suicide. I hate to ask you. Yet it is what we need most.”
    Gwendolyn examined Bokbu, noted the seriousness on his face, and she pondered his words long and hard.
    “We will do whatever is needed,” she said, “whatever best serves your cause. If allies lie on the other side of the Great Waste, then so be it. We shall march at once. And we shall return with armies at our disposal.”
    Bokbu, tears in his eyes, stepped forward and embraced Gwendolyn.
    “You are a true queen,” he said. “Your people are fortunate to have you.”
    Gwen turned to her people, and she saw them all staring back solemnly, fearlessly. She knew they would follow her anywhere.
    “Prepare to march,” she said. “We shall cross the Great Waste. We shall find the Second Ring. Or we shall die trying.”
    *
    Sandara stood there, feeling torn apart as she watched Kendrick and his people preparing to embark on their journey to the Great Waste. On her other side were Darius and her people, the people she had been raised with, the only people she’d ever known, preparing to turn away, to rally their villages to fight the Empire. She felt split down the middle, and did not know which way to turn. She couldn’t bear to see Kendrick disappear forever; and yet she couldn’t bear to abandon her people, either.
    Kendrick, finishing preparing his armor and sheathing his sword, looked up and met her eyes. He seemed to know what she was thinking—he always did. She could also see hurt in his eyes, a wariness of her; she did not blame him—all this time in the Empire she had kept her distance from him, had lived in the village while he lived in the caves. She had been intent on honoring her elders, on not intermarrying with another race.
    And yet, she realized, she had not honored love. What was more important? To honor one’s family’s laws or to honor one’s heart? She had anguished over it every day.
    Kendrick made his