By the Sword Read Online Free PDF

land produced riches of such magnitude.”
    The king breathed a sigh of relief.
    “I will take the liberty to cart all of this back to Malinor.”
    “That was not the agreement!”
    “Oh. I’m sorry then,” said Jalarn, unsheathing his sword.
    “Wait, stop!” cried the king. “Take it all.”
    Like it really mattered what the old man said to him now.
    “You are of no further use to me.”
    Before the king could cry out, Jalarn slit his throat.
    Seraphim fell, lying motionless at Jalarn’s feet.
    Commander Waltez walked over. He stared at the portly corpse for a moment. Jalarn detected an envious glare in the man’s eyes.
    “Throw him in the river and then kill the queen,” said Jalarn.
    Waltez nodded and left him.
    It was time to take their spoils and return home.
    *****
     
    Ittonifer stood on the balcony of his castle. Jalarn, Waltez, and their men had returned with carts upon carts of something.
    “What have they been up to?”
    The sight lifted his mood. Rather than rush back home like a pair of idiots, they had been shrewd enough to collect some of their enemy’s spoils.
    “They must have something heavy in those carts,” said a feminine voice from behind him.
    It was his daughter, Chrissa. She came to his side and they watched as the army entered into the city. The civilians quickly cleared the streets.
    “Father, I’ve been training every single day. Please, allow me to join our troops in the battle against Sanctus,” she said.
    “You already know my answer.”
    “Why did you even bother teaching me the sword if—”
    “ Enough, wench!”
    The girl crossed her arms. She had become much too headstrong. Now seventeen, his daughter had been eligible for marriage two years ago. The imp would be better off putting her energy into providing him with strong grandsons rather than arguing with him on a daily basis about matters that did not concern her .
    It was Ittonifer’s unfortunate fate that his only child was a female. At least his nephew, Jalarn, was proving to be quite useful.
    Heavy footsteps sounded from behind them.
    “My lord, I hope that I’m not intruding.”
    It was Naeshi – Ittonifer’s senior guard.
    “What do you want?” asked Ittonifer.
    “Jalarn has requested to speak with you. He says that you will like what he has to say.”
    “He had better be right.”
    Naeshi’s eyes wandered toward Chrissa. His gaze remained on her. She was dressed in a sleeveless gown in the same inky shade as her hair. It hugged her tall, graceful form and emphasized her creamy white complexion. Her blue eyes glared back at the man before she returned her attention to the view below.
    If the guard did not do anything to mess up, like the one before him, Ittonifer would give Chrissa to him. It was high time that another man was given the responsibility of handling her.
    Ittonifer walked with Naeshi back through his chamber and down the long hallway that led to Jalarn’s wing.
    Jalarn met them at the end of the hallway. The lad wore his typical arrogant expression. Unlike most twenty year olds, he was quickly climbing his way to the top of an empire. Still, he had a long way to go before he impressed Ittonifer.
    “Speak, Jalarn,” said Ittonifer.
    “I trust that you know Cardamon is now part of the empire,” said Jalarn.
    “Is the king dead?” asked Ittonifer.
    “ Yes. But not before he had offered to give us half of Cardamon’s wealth as tribute, and in exchange for their lives. I kept him alive long enough for him to show me where their country’s wealth is stored, and then killed him myself. Waltez took care of the queen.”
    Ittonifer grinned.
    So, my brother’s son has turned out to be as shrewd as he is strong.
    “Where is my money?” asked Ittonifer.
    “ Half of it is being brought to the vault as we speak, and I will send a group back to collect the remaining treasures . We have experienced great victory,” said Jalarn.
    “You are wrong, young commander,” said Ittonifer. “We