Kingdom of Ash

them, half of the khagan’s fleet followed. The
other half still lingered in the southern
continent as the rest of the mighty empire’s
armada rallied. They’d only be a few weeks
behind if the weather held.
Chaol sent a prayer on the briny, icy wind
that it would. For despite the size of the fleet
gathered behind him, and despite the thousand
ruk riders who were just taking to the skies
from their roosts on the ships for morning
hunts over the waves, it might still not be
enough against Morath.
And they might not arrive fast enough for
that army to make a difference anyway.
Three weeks of sailing had brought them
little news of the host his friends had
assembled and supposedly brought to
Terrasen, and they’d kept far enough from the
coast to avoid any enemy ships—or wyverns.
But that would change today.