Chapter 80 - Shadows in The Wind
The soft flutter of pigeon wings filled the sky over Shewa as the birds descended with ribbons tied to their legs. The messengers had arrived—tiny couriers of war and revelation. A guard retrieved them quickly, rushing through the winding corridors of the stone fortress toward the command chamber where Khisa sat with Commander Tesfaye.
The sun was beginning to set, bleeding orange across the mountains as Khisa untied the letters with practiced fingers. He skimmed through them one by one, the shadows on his face growing darker with each word.
Tesfaye leaned over, his eyes scanning for meaning. "What does it say?" he asked.
Khisa’s brow furrowed. "Nuri has taken control of a major trade hub... and now both the Portuguese and the Ottomans have set their sights on us."
Tesfaye blinked. "What?"
Khisa nodded, stunned. "They’ve allied themselves against us. Both of them."
"Now we have to fight three powerful nations. Abyssinia is done for." Tesfaye sighed, clutching his head.
A stunned silence followed.
"I didn’t expect this," Khisa admitted, gripping the letter tighter. "I knew things were shifting... but not this fast. Not like this." He paused, a faint smile touching his lips. "My father... he pulled this off without me. I’m impressed—and proud. He’s outpaced the enemies and even me."
Tesfaye looked away, hiding his frown. The joy in Khisa’s voice only deepened the knot of anxiety twisting in his gut.
He had seen too much. The ghosts of past failures lingered like an unwelcome shadow. His last attempt to take a port—the disastrous raid on Zeila—haunted him still. A narrow beachhead, poor supplies, an ambush in the dark. Men screaming as ships burned. He had buried thirty-five soldiers with his own hands. Some were boys. One was his cousin.