A Marriage of Swords
The message was short, written in an elegant, venomous hand.
To the Prince who consorts with barbarians, Your ‘victory’ reeks of witchcraft and ruin. You have unleashed the mountain’s fury and slain hundreds, not in honorable combat, but in subterranean slaughter. The eastern lords will hear the truth. The crown’s alliance with savages ends here. We will not be ruled by those who break the world to save it. There is a price for such treachery. You have taken something of the mountain. The mountain will take something of yours.— A Friend to the True Kingdom
“It’s not signed,” Makil said, his voice tight.