`` bernard , '' amara said , and laid a hand on his shoulder `` wait `` bernard faced the oncoming soldiers , his brow darkening , and the ground let out a faint tremble the soldiers stopped in their tracks , their expressions nervous `` come on , '' the big steadholder growled `` i have n't got all day `` `` get out of my way ' '' thundered a voice from within the gates amara blinked , startled at the tone a man in a rumpled and wine stained shirt thrust his way through the crowd watching the altercation he was n't tall , but had a barrel for a chest and a jaw that looked heavy and hard enough to break stones upon , covered by a curling beard of fiery red his hair , shorn short , was of a similar color , though patchy with batches of grey that made his scalp look like a battleground , with troops in scarlet struggling to hold terrain against a grey-clad foe his eyes were deep under heavy brows , bloodshot , and angry he walked barefoot in the snow , and steam curled up from his footprints `` what in the name of all the furies is going on here ? ''