{"id":3002,"date":"2016-10-05T00:00:45","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T04:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3002"},"modified":"2016-10-04T18:16:58","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T22:16:58","slug":"forty-one-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3002","title":{"rendered":"Forty-one – 03"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thom’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Sif watched him as he climbed, watched him as he got situated in his spot overlooking the wall. One brow arched delicately as she studied him.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you actually mean to negotiate with them from there?\u201d she asked, her tone mild.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to be able to see them coming,\u201d Thom admitted. It took a moment for him to realize that she\u2019d assumed he was climbing up so he could negotiate because he hadn\u2019t brought any ranged weapons up onto the wall with him.<\/p>\n

Matt never did, either, but somehow he was always up here on the wall.<\/em><\/p>\n

The thought stung more than it had any right to. Thom felt a pang of regret.<\/p>\n

Avenge us, Matt, if we die here today. Avenge us. Save what\u2019s left.<\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let it all end with us.<\/em><\/p>\n

His throat grew tight and not for the first time, he hoped his wife was right when she\u2019d said that wherever Matt was, it was likely he was safe\u2014it was likely that Hecate wouldn\u2019t hurt him.<\/p>\n

He wished Matt was there with them, though. He wished Cameron had already returned\u2014half wished Cameron had gone on his errand long ago and returned in equal measure.<\/p>\n

He wished a lot of things, most of them useless, the side-effect of a man staring down the barrel of a proverbial gun, playing Russian Roulette with dozens of lives, not knowing if there was a bullet in the chamber or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you see anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot yet,\u201d Sif said.<\/p>\n

But they heard them\u2014heard the drums that grew nearer.<\/p>\n

It couldn\u2019t be long now.<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be long now.<\/p>\n

\u201cA mile out.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Carolyn\u2019s voice. Thom twisted to look down at her, saw the grim set of her jaw and the barest glimmer of green-blue light near her shoulder. He swallowed past the tightness in his throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey looked?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded. \u201cIt\u2019s a big army, Thom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thom\u2019s jaw tightened and he nodded. \u201cI thought it might be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me you have a plan,\u201d she said, her voice pitched just loud enough for him to hear.<\/p>\n

Further down the wall, the archers from the Wild Hunt were getting into position. Leinth and Seamus were heading toward the gate, their heads bent close in conference as they walked, their fingers laced through each other\u2019s in a quiet sort of intimacy.<\/p>\n

Thom\u2019s heart gave a painful squeeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll think of something,\u201d he murmured. \u201cWe always do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carolyn\u2019s lips thinned, but she nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI trust you,\u201d she said softly. \u201cWe<\/em> trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words were meant to be reassuring.<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Thom’s point of view.] Sif watched him as he climbed, watched him as he got situated in his spot overlooking the wall. One brow arched delicately as she studied him. \u201cDo you actually mean to negotiate … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,222,14],"tags":[150,163,171,170,166,149,148,159,147,167,165,158,146,195],"class_list":["post-3002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-5","category-chapter-41","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-carolyn-roberts","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-leinth","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-seamus-vaughan","tag-serial-fiction","tag-sif","tag-story","tag-thom-ambrose","tag-web-fiction","tag-wild-hunt"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-Mq","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3003,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002\/revisions\/3003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}