Chapter 6
Keir
Keir slid the kerchief off his face, wiping the sweat from his brow. This close to the burning lands, the smoke nearly obscured the sky. His men were weary from marching in this heat, choking on the smoke they weren’t used to breathing.
“It’s a wonder anything can live here.” Declan coughed, pulling his mount up beside Keir’s. “That people choose this place as their home astounds me.”
“I don’t think there’s much choice involved.” Keir sipped cool water from a waterskin. “But when you don’t have anything, you do the best you can with what you’ve got.”
“I wonder if your court came on campaign with you, if they could witness these conditions for themselves, they’d understand why you’ve made the choices you have since taking the throne.”
“They would still see what they wan
