Tinker's War (The Tinkerer's Daughter Book 2) by Jamie Sedgwick Page B

escaped. The armies at Anora and Riverfork had time to prepare. They may very well have driven the Vangars back.”
    “That is unlikely,” said Lydian. “You have not seen what their weapons can do.”
    Actually, we had. Robie and I had both seen the ruins of the palace. If all of the dragon ships were armed with similar weapons, Riverfork and Anora didn’t stand a chance. Robie and I shared a glance, both of us thinking the same thing, but neither daring to speak the words.
    “It would be foolhardy to move south now,” Tam said. “The elders travel slowly and they can’t cover great distances. If we plan to go south, a few of us should scout ahead-”
    “No,” Lydian said, cutting him short. “We will need every able bodied fighter to survive. This is not some old woman off the street. This is your queen.”
    Tam nodded respectfully. Tal’mar youth rarely argue with their elders and never in public. Robie was not bound by the same traditions. “So you’re going to take your queen into the wilderness and live like a bunch of animals?” he said.
    “It is not us who live like cattle, human,” Lydian said. “Our kind have always lived in the forests, since our ancestors walked out of the great cold north many thousands of years ago. Do you think we need you to show us how to survive?”
    I nudged Robie and he bit his tongue.
    “Where will you go?” I said. “The forests to the west will be patrolled by Vangars. The ice to the north will provide neither food nor shelter.”
    “We will go east,” the queen said, speaking up for the first time. “We will go deep into the mountains.”
    I considered that. “What about the war?” I said. “What about the rest of your people?”
    She sighed. “Breeze, our people are gone. Look around you. We are all that is left. We cannot fight. We will be lucky to survive as a race. It is over.”
    Her face was tired, defeated. I understood the way she felt. This small group of Tal’mar was no fighting force. The queen was right. Trying to stage some sort of insurgency with a small band like this was suicide.
    I turned to Robie. “We have to talk,” I said.
    He followed me up the hill, where we could speak without the Tal’mar overhearing us. Or Robie thought so, anyway. I knew better. “They won’t go south,” I said. “The queen’s decision is final.”
    “So they’ll run into the mountains like cowards,” he said. “They’ll hide in the wilderness while their people are killed and enslaved.”
    “What would you have them do?” I said. “Look at them. Half a dozen fighters… how many Vangars do you think they can kill?”
    “It won’t just be them,” he said. “We’ll join up with the others. There will be others like us.”
    “Maybe,” I said thoughtfully. “I’m not as convinced as you are. Do you remember what Silverspire looked like? I’m sure you can imagine what happened at Avenston, and then Riverfork-”
    “I know,” he said, waving his hand. “I understand that. But I think we have to fight now. The longer we wait, the stronger the enemy will become.”
    “What about my grandmother?” I said. “Shouldn’t we at least see that they get safely into the mountains?”
    Robie narrowed his eyebrows. “Breeze, I know these are your people, but what about my family? What about Jesha and Becca? What about Tinker?”
    “That’s not fair!” I said angrily. I glanced at the group of Tal’mar and realized several of them were staring at us. They had probably overheard the entire argument. “Do you think Tinker is any less important to me than my grandmother?”
    Robie took a deep breath. “No. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that for now, your queen is safe. She has support. She has hunters. She has everything she could need.”
    “He’s right,” Tam said, climbing the hill towards us.
    “But she’s my grandmother,” I said. “I have an obligation to make sure she’s safe.”
    “She will be safe,” Tam said in a