The Gembound: The Price of Keeping Chapter 63: Volume 3: Chapter 59 – The Ambush

Read chapter 63 of The Gembound: The Price of Keeping by Taliorn on NovelPedia.

Volume 3: Chapter 59 – The Ambush Chapter 59 – The Ambush Day 1 Night: The Ambush Eastern ridge, a half-mile from Aramore The air outside Aramore was colder than it should have been for early spring. The kind of cold that crept into metal and waited there. Yara stood at the base of the eastern wall, watching fog gather in the hollows. Sam crouched beside her, still as a statue, scales dimmed to dull bronze. She’d stopped calling him ‘the Scion’ weeks ago. The name had felt too formal for something that slept at her feet and killed on command. Harry leaned against the stone, arms crossed, pretending his hands weren’t shaking. The three bears waited behind them, patient and silent, heavy enough that the ground remembered them. At her feet, a fox sat with its tail wrapped tight around its paws. On the wall above, a raven clicked its beak, head turning side to side as if measuring the wind. Both belonged to Weaver. “They’ll lead you,” Weaver’s voice had said earlier, disembodied but close. “The Ferric scouts have been watching from the ridge. Six of them. The fox knows their trail. The raven knows their eyes.” Now, as the rest of the garrison settled into quiet watch rotations, Yara checked the straps on her gloves and looked at the group behind her. Marcus had argued she shouldn’t go. So had Varrek. Even Harry had tried. “You have a city to run,” Marcus had said. “I have a city to protect,” she’d answered. “And I can’t protect it by sitting in a room pretending I know what I’m doing.” He’d said nothing after that. Now she looked out across the dark fields and felt the weight of command pressing in from every direction: the city, the army, the clerics who prayed to her when she didn’t want gods in the first place. Everything felt like too much, except this. This she could do. The fox started walking the moment the gate shut behind them. It moved at a leisurely pace, ears twitching, nose to the ground, tail low. The raven followed overhead, silent wings flashing once against the moon before disappearing into the clouds. They crossed the outer fields, past the last farm fences where scarecrows leaned like forgotten soldiers. The smell of turned soil and ash hung in the air; new planting had already begun under Harvester’s orders. Sam kept to the left, his movements impossibly quiet for his size. The bears spread out on either flank, heads low, their fur catching the faintest reflection of starlight. Harry stayed beside Yara, second line close enough to guard, far enough to keep his pulse from interfering with hers. “You sure about this?” Harry asked softly. “No,” Yara said. “That’s why I’m coming.” He didn’t push it. The fragment under his skin glowed once, steadying again. The ground rose gradually, turning from plowed earth to rocky slope. A half-mile out, the fox stopped, ears forward. The raven circled once overhead and landed in a tree just above the ridge. Yara crouched. The others followed. The fox turned its head toward her and made a soft, quiet, urgent chuffing sound. “They’re close,” Harry said, voice low. Sam sniffed the air. “Oil. Metal polish. Crossbows or pikes. They’ve been here all day.” The Gem hummed under Yara’s ribs. They’ve been watching long enough to think they know you. She looked at the fox. “Show us.” It trotted forward, slow and deliberate. Twenty paces up, it stopped beside a fallen log and scratched twice at the dirt. When Yara joined it, she saw the marks: fresh boot prints, light tread, controlled step. Six sets, just like Weaver had said. Beyond the ridge, faint movement shapes shifting in the dark. Six men, armored in dull steel, faces wrapped in cloth. One with a spyglass. One with a horn. Professionals. Yara glanced back. Sam nodded. The bears waited for her signal. She raised her hand and pointed: two fingers left, one right. The fox darted away into the underbrush. The raven croaked once, and then there was only the sound of the wind. Sam struck first. He came in from the side, fast and silent,