Mistborn #03 The Hero of Ages

captivity, giving him confidence that she would find a way out.
    He sighed, shaking his head. Who was he to trust his own instincts about the mists over Vin's? She had the instincts born of a lifetime of struggling to survive. What did Elend have? Instincts born of a lifetime of partygoing and dancing?
    Sound came from behind him. People walking. Elend turned, eyeing a pair of servants carrying Cett in his chair.
    "That damn Thug isn't around here, is he?" Cett asked as the servants set him down.
    Elend shook his head as Cett waved the servants away. "No," Elend said. "He's investigating some kind of disturbance in the ranks."
    "What happened this time?" Cett asked.
    "Fistfight," Elend said, turning away, looking back toward Fadrex City's watch fires.
    "The men are restless," Cett said. "They're a little like koloss, you know. Leave them too long, and they'll get themselves into trouble."
    Koloss are like them, actually, Elend thought. We should have seen it earlier. They are men—just men reduced to their most base emotions.
    Cett sat quietly in the mists for a time, and Elend continued his contemplations.
    Eventually, Cett spoke, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "She's as good as dead, son. You know that."
    "No, I don't," Elend said.
    "She's not invincible," Cett said. "She's a damn good Allomancer, true. But, take her metals away . . ."
    She'll surprise you, Cett.
    "You don't even look worried," Cett said.
    "Of course I'm worried," Elend said, growing more certain. "I just . . . well, I trust her. If anyone can get out, Vin will."
    "You're in denial," Cett said.
    "Perhaps," Elend admitted.
    "Are we going to attack?" Cett asked. "Try and get her back?"
    "This is a siege, Cett," Elend said. "The point is to not attack."
    "And our supplies?" Cett asked. "Demoux had to put the soldiers on half rations today. We'll be lucky not to starve ourselves before we can get Yomen to surrender."
    "We have time yet," Elend said.
    "Not much. Not with Luthadel in revolt." Cett was silent for a moment, then continued. "Another of my raiding parties returned today. They had the same things to report."
    The same news as all the others. Elend had authorized Cett to send soldiers into nearby villages, to scare the people, perhaps pillage some supplies. Yet, each of the raiding groups had come back empty-handed, bearing the same story.
    The people in Yomen's kingdom were starving. Villages barely survived. The soldiers hadn't the heart to hurt them any further, and there wasn't anything to take, anyway.
    Elend turned toward Cett. "You think me a bad leader, don't you?"
    Cett looked up, then scratched at his beard. "Yes," he admitted. "But, well . . . Elend, you've got one thing going for you as a king that I never did."
    "And that is?"
    Cett shrugged. "The people like you. Your soldiers trust you, and they know you have too good a heart for your own good. You have a strange effect on them. Lads like those, they should have been eager to rob villages, even poor ones. Especially considering how on-edge our men are and how many fights there have been in camp. And yet, they didn't. Hell, one of the groups felt so sorry for the villagers that they stayed for a few days and helped water the fields and do repairs to some of the homes!"
    Cett sighed, shaking his head. "A few years ago, I would have laughed at anyone who chose loyalty as a basis for rule. But, well . . . with the world falling apart as it is, I think even I would rather have someone to trust, as opposed to someone to fear. I guess that's why the soldiers act as they do."
    Elend nodded.
    "I thought a siege was a good idea," Cett said. "But, I don't think it will work anymore, son. The ash is falling too hard now, and we don't have supplies. This whole thing is becoming a damn mess. We need to strike and take what we can from Fadrex, then retreat to Luthadel and try to hold it through the summer while our people grow crops."
    Elend fell silent, then turned, looking to the side as he heard something else in the mists. Shouting and cursing. It was faint—Cett probably couldn't hear it. Elend left, hurrying toward the sound, leaving Cett behind.
    Another fight, Elend realized as he approached one of the cooking fires. He heard yells, blustering, and the sounds of men brawling. Cett's right. Goodhearted or not, our men are getting too restless. I need —
    "Stop this immediately!" a new voice called. Just ahead, through the dark mists, Elend could see figures moving about the