Alistair's breath hitched, flooded with memories of how Josephine had bailed him out time and again.
When bridge construction had been stymied by rugged cliffs, she had been the one to propose blasting through the bedrock with gunpowder.
Amid the courtiers' jeers, Josephine had slaved over experiments for countless sleepless nights, finally cracking the gunpowder formula and splitting the mountain wide open.
That single feat made the King finally see Alistair's worth.
Josephine never kept secrets, freely sharing her methods with the troops.
Yet their clumsy replicas always fell short of her masterful touch.
Now, forced to beg for her help again, guilt gnawed at Alistair's gut.
A soldier gripped his arm urgently.
"Your Highness, we are running out of time."
Alistair rose.
"I will
