“He believed yeh deserved this, no doubt, but it didn’t have to be so deep. He should have just left yeh alone. What with the coming battles…?”
“Why should it matter?” replied Dinah. “If anything, I’m going to be executed in a few days, just long enough to see Morte put to death. Mundoo no doubt wants me dead, he just wants to prolong the process. And why wouldn’t he? It’s no secret that the Yurkei are not fans of the royal family, nor should they be.” She raised her eyes to Yur-Jee, who watched them with barely concealed hatred from the banks of the stream. “Mundoo might lose his chance,” she muttered. “There are plenty of people here who would like to see my head on a stake, sooner rather than later.”
“The Yurkei don’t behead,” said Sir Gorrann calmly as he dunked his head under the stream. “They drop their prisoners from the wings of the cranes onto the stones below.” He stopped, suddenly aware of what that image would do to Dinah. “I’m sorry, Yer Highness. I forgot.”
She spread her fingers in the water, seeing Charles on the stone slab. “Don’t be sorry. It would be fitting to die like my brother. There would be a great balance to it.” Dinah was suddenly aware that the noisy stream had grown very silent. The Yurkei women were climbing naked out of the water and gathering up their children with whispered words of compliance. The children struggled, unhappy to have their playtime cut short, but the women carried them away, everyone wet and nude and healthy. Within seconds, Dinah and Sir Gorrann were the only ones left in the stream. Dinah heard the crunch of branches behind her and turned, her arms wrapped tightly across her chest, her heart thudding beneath them.
Two huge feet stood before her on the bank—gnarled, gross feet—huge slabs of meat marked with callouses and scars. They led up to the tallest man Dinah had ever seen. It was strange seeing someone with a similar skin tone here in the depth of Yurkei country. His hair was a honeyed brown rather than white, though it was long and cut in the Yurkei manner. His hair came to a downward point on his forehead, his eyes a dull green. A jagged scar ran from his chin up past his cheek, mingling with the white stripes of paint that ran from under his eye to his shins. He wore only a feather loincloth and his massive muscles bulged underneath, taut with veins. Thighs and arms like tree trunks stretched out from his jaggedly rigid stomach. He was a giant, the most massive man Dinah had ever seen, one that would dwarf even her father. In one hand he clutched an elaborately curved bow and arrow. In the other was a Heartsword.
Dinah’s stomach gave a lurch when she saw the sunlight flicker off the double-sided blade. Only her father and the highest-ranking Cards carried Heartswords. She stared in wonder, her arms pressed tightly over her round breasts. The man glowered at them before throwing his weapons on the bank. Without warning, he reached down and plucked Dinah straight out of the water by clasping both of her arms at her side and lifting, as easily as if he had picked up a rag doll. Something felt as if it was ripping inside her shoulder. She struggled, but it was no use. His grip was as strong as iron. Her feet dangled above the ground. Sir Gorrann struggled to climb out of the stream, his eyes on the man.
The man sneered as he looked into Dinah’s surprised face. “This skinny dark-eyed girl is the great Princess of Wonderland? The one who bested her father, who stole his horse and left a bloody trail behind her? It can’t be. You are barely the size of my thigh and weak as a newly hatched worm. Are you her, this legendary warrior, the Rebel Queen? Answer me, child.”
Dinah strained her neck to look up at him, water streaming into her eyes. Her mouth seemed unable to form words.
“Speak up!” he bellowed, his breath blowing her hair back. Dinah bit her lip, the fury inside of her poking its head out of slumber. She twisted to free herself, but it was of no use. Instead she fixed her black eyes on his.
“I am Dinah, the former Princess of Wonderland, and this is my guard, Sir Gorrann, a Spade, and one of the most feared trackers in the Cards.”
“So I have heard,” he said. “A naked drowned rat and her old man guardian; this is who I am to train?” With a laugh, he set her down on the ground. “Pleased to meet you. You can call me Bah-kan. As you may have noticed, I do not look like most of my brothers here in Hu-Yuhar. You may be wondering who I am, that my Wonderlander speech is so perfect.” Dinah was, indeed, wondering all of these things. She nodded.
“My given name is Stern Radley, and I was once the highest-ranking Club Card in the King’s army.”
Dinah let out a gasp. Stern Radley was famous—in fact, his giant statue guarded Charles’s room. There were poems and stories about him, Stern Radley, the bravest Club to ever live.