‘ We’d best get off the trail and see who it is that’s behind us,’ Coralen said.
Corban took his place on a shelf of rock above the path; Storm and his mam crouched nearby. Dath was on the other side of the trail, on a ridge amongst trees and scrub, his bow strung. The rest of them were spread either side, hidden behind rock or tree. It felt like a long time before Corban heard the sound of hooves.
Eventually a figure appeared in the gloom, emerging from the shadows. A man on horseback, a tall hound padding beside him. Then Corban recognized him and leaped forward, yelling, ‘Don’t shoot him,’ to Dath.
The man reined in, his hound growling. He aimed a clipped command at the hound. ‘Hello, Corban,’ he said.
‘Ventos.’
CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO
FIDELE
Fidele stood on the battlements of Jerolin. It was cold, snow from the mountains carpeting much of the slopes and plains to the north. The lake glistened beneath a pale sun. Looking east, she saw at last the sight she had been waiting for. Riders, eagle-guard cantering past the stockaded walls of the lake town and onto the road that wound up to Jerolin. As they drew closer she saw that they circled another figure.
Lykos. She felt a flare of anger, saw in her mind the faces of those she had rescued from his fighting pit, as well as a pile of the dead.
Her eyes drifted to the lake, settling again on the ships that had arrived yesterday, half a dozen at least, rowing out of a river into the lake’s waters. Vin Thalun ships.
Lykos is not stupid enough to attack me, surely. To attack Jerolin. A good portion of Tenebral’s warriors may be on the other side of the Banished Lands, but there are still enough here to defend Jerolin. He must know that. Still, she wondered why a few hundred of his warriors were now anchored only half a league away.
She turned and strode down a stairwell, Orcus behind her, and made her way to her chambers in Jerolin’s black tower.
Does Lykos bring news of Nathair? She felt a weightlessness in her belly at that thought. My brave son. Elyon above, let him be well and safe, if safe is still possible in this dark world. And what of the war – the God-War? I have arrested the only man that may actually have knowledge of developments in the Banished Lands.
In silence Fidele climbed the spiral stair of Jerolin’s tower, where two eagle-guard stood outside the doors of her chamber. Once inside, Orcus poured her a cup of wine and assumed his position behind her chair. It was not long before there was a knock at the door and Lykos was admitted.
He strode in confidently, his gait rolling as if he still walked a ship’s deck. An easy smile stretched across his face.
‘Please, sit,’ Fidele said politely.
He poured himself a cup of wine and took a long draught.
‘I hate riding,’ he said as he wiped wine from his beard.
‘I am sorry for that, but it was important that I saw you.’
He leaned back in his chair and smiled at her. ‘You are as beautiful as ever.’
She blinked at that. She had seen the way he looked at her but he had never been so bold as to comment on the thoughts behind his eyes. Something was different . . .
‘You have done a terrible thing,’ she said.
He laughed at that, a short bark. ‘I have done many terrible things, my lady. To which one do you refer?’
‘I refer to the fighting pit at Balara. Don’t play games, Lykos. I am sure that you know why I have brought you here.’
He leaned forward, serious now. ‘Yes, I am aware.’
‘You have committed murder. That poor boy, Jace. His body was dragged up from the lakebed by fishermen. And all those others at Balara, forced to fight for your entertainment. And you have disobeyed and lied to me. I cannot and will not let these things go unpunished.’
‘I see. Well, before this conversation takes us into unpleasant waters, let me give you my news. Your son was well, the last time I saw him.’
‘Where?’ she asked, for a moment her other priorities swept aside.
‘Ardan. Dun Carreg. He was mired deeply in the politics of the west, strengthening the alliance.’
‘Has he found Meical? I know that he was keen to track down my husband’s counsellor.’
I pray he hasn’t found him. Not before I tell him of what Ektor and I have discovered.
‘Meical has been seen in Dun Carreg, but he left long before Nathair arrived.’
Good.
‘And Nathair, he was well?’
‘Yes, although he was troubled, concerned. For you. He thinks perhaps he has placed too much responsibility upon your shoulders, too soon after the death of your husband.’
What? Am I really hearing this? Lykos is lying.