“I gave my excuses, saying that we could not leave both sides of the bridge without their lords in these times,” his eyes met mine. “But, in truth, I feared that if I took my wife and children with me as was requested, I would find myself a widower without heirs.
“I know that Fenian has given orders to his men to hold the walls and prevent your crossing,” he told me. “They already man the archer towers and walls and I saw the fires lit to heat water for the machicolations when you appeared on the horizon. They know you are here and prepare for your force.”
He looked skywards as Aurien’s shadow crossed us. “I see that rumours of the dragon were true,” he said. “I have never seen a dragon before.”
“There are only around five hundred left in this world,” I told him.