“The Shadowhawk was not there.”
Antonia held on to a faint hope. Perhaps General Nikephoros might change his mind. This battle was pointless. There was no territory to win, no spoils, no decorations, yet he stood to lose his honor. No, he had begun the fight to preserve his honor, but the losses outweighed the gains. His opponent was a back-alley patrol captain, while he was a war hero who had received a title from the king himself. If the two fought, which had more to lose?
Ever since the Shadowhawk had broken into the manor, all sorts of rumors had spread. They said the Shadowhawk’s twin swords had slipped into the general’s residence, guarded by more than a hundred soldiers, and overrun it with ease. They wondered why the general had secretly kidnapped a young girl. They even said his men had attempted an ambush to silence the intruders, only to be defeated by the Shadowhawk instead. As the unfavorable rumors spread, so did word that the general would soon teach the Shadowhawk a lesson.
Antonia understood this fight because they could not simply let such rumors stand. She did not approve, but at least she understood. She hoped the matter would end with the general attacking Hawk House and humiliating the Shadowhawk. That was why she had actually felt relieved when told the Shadowhawk was not at home. She had feared he might truly accept a one-on-one fight with the general.
But the battle had taken an unexpected course. Hawk House, which she had thought would be occupied in an instant, held out surprisingly well. Even the catapult had been burned. These were no rabble whose only experience was fighting for back-alley territory. Judging by events so far, she strongly suspected someone with experience of war was directing the defense. She had rushed here upon hearing the decision to engage in close combat. Hand-to-hand fighting over a quarrel like this! She could endure it no longer.
“Since he has not returned by now, I believe he must have left the city. Would it not be better to send out a search party?”
There was no guarantee a search party would find him. It would be even less likely to capture him. Their opponent was the Shadowhawk. They would be better off simply waiting. He would return eventually. But she could hardly expect the general to welcome a suggestion that they sit still and wait, so she had said it merely to have something to say. If he would only stop this battle, she was prepared to carry out any order gladly.
When the general did not answer, Antonia took a step closer. The high back of his great chair hid his face, but she did not think he had failed to hear. He was not a man who thought about other things while his troops fought. Even if it took a full day and night, or three days, he would not go to bed until every unit’s fighting was over.
After a long while, an unexpected answer came.
“Leave them. That is why I began this fight.”
Antonia’s eyes widened. What did that mean?
“As I said, close combat has begun. If this continues, there will be casualties.”
“Was there ever a fight without casualties?”
Antonia blinked several times to calm herself. Even without another cause, even for the general’s wrath alone, she had been prepared to give her life. That was because she trusted him to understand how his subordinates felt. Recently, however, he had grown indifferent to their sacrifices. And his answer just now deepened her doubts. She had understood that the attack had begun to force the Shadowhawk to accept a duel with him. Why continue the battle when the Shadowhawk was not there?
“Did you perhaps… know that the Shadowhawk was absent?”
“He left through the city gate at dawn today.”
“Then what are we fighting for now?”
The words escaped her before she could stop them. She regretted them at once, but they were what she truly felt. The general did not grow angry. In fact, he was so deeply absorbed in other thoughts that he had forgotten even to become angry.
“When he returns and sees what has happened to his men, he will answer my summons. No, he will come looking for me. He will be desperate to put a blade to my throat.”
The general was right. But did that justify sacrificing the lives of the men who followed him? Antonia felt as though all his subordinates, herself included, had been discarded like pieces on a game board. They all believed they fought for his honor. Were they in fact no more than tools to rouse the Shadowhawk’s anger?
Suppressing her rising indignation, Antonia spoke carefully.
“General. Please stop this battle now. If your purpose is to provoke the Shadowhawk, what you have done already will be enough. Word has spread throughout the city… He will accept your challenge, if only for the sake of his reputation.”
She heard a hand tapping the armrest. The general asked, “How many have died?”
“Fortunately, none of our men had been killed when I left.”
“No, not yours. Theirs.”
Antonia blinked again. She felt close to tears.
“None… on their side either, as yet.”
“Then continue. Kill them. As many as possible.”
Some of the general’s own men would die in the process. Whether he knew how Antonia felt or not, he alternated between clenching and unclenching his fist and pounding the armrest. Then he spoke, less to Antonia than to himself.
“That will not be enough. I must humiliate him utterly. I must make him understand that he has something to lose. Once they realize there is something they wish to protect, the weak become strong, but the strong grow weak. He is still young and whole. How long can he remain that way? I was once the same, but my honor was ground into the arena floor in an instant. Now he will learn too. What I felt then.”
The man who had humiliated the general then had not been Gene, but Garon Vendigate. Yet the general no longer distinguished between the two men.
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