Hadrian noticed Gaunt was looking at him. Up until that moment, he had not known who Gaunt was speaking to.
“No one says it, no one bows or anything, but you are highly regarded, I can tell—more than Alric, that’s for certain. If you were to support me, I think we could persuade the others to accept my command of this group. I know Magnus would.”
“Why you?” Hadrian asked.
“Huh?”
“Why should you be in charge?”
“Oh—well, for one thing I am the descendant of Novron and will be emperor. And second, I am smarter than that oaf Alric, by far.”
“I thought you said you wanted a system based on merit, not lineage.”
“I did, but like I said, I am far better suited to the task than he is. Besides, why else am I here if not to lead?”
“Alric has led men into battle, and when I say led, I mean it. He personally charged the gates of Medford under a hail of arrows ahead of everyone, even his bodyguards.”
“Exactly, the man is a fool.”
“All right, it might not have been the smartest choice, but it did show courage and an unwillingness to sit back in safety while sending others into peril. That right there gives him credit in my book. But okay, I see your point. He might not be the smartest leader. So if you want someone with brains and merit, then Princess Arista is your clear choice.”
Degan chuckled, apparently taking his comments as a joke. When he saw Hadrian’s scowl, he stopped. “You’re not serious? She’s a woman—an irritating, manipulative, bossy woman. She shouldn’t even be on this trip. She’s got Alric wrapped around her finger and it will get us all killed. Did you know she tried to free me from that dungeon all by herself? She failed miserably, got herself captured and her bodyguard killed. That’s what she does, you know. She gets people killed. She’s a menace. And on top of that she’s also a wit—”
Degan struck the wall with the back of his head, bounced off, and fell to his knees. Hadrian felt the pain in his knuckles and only then realized he had hit him.
Gaunt glared up, his eyes watering, his hands cupping his face. “Crazy fool! Are you mad?”
“What’s going on?” Arista called back down the line.
“This idiot just punched me in the face! My nose is bleeding!”
“Hadrian did?” the princess said, stunned.
“It was… an accident,” Hadrian replied, knowing it sounded feeble, but not knowing how else to describe his actions. He had not meant to hit Gaunt; it had just happened.
“You accidentally punched him?” Wyatt asked, suppressing a chuckle. “I’m not sure you have a full understanding of the whole bodyguard thing.”
“Hadrian!” Royce called.
“What?” he shouted back, irritated that even Royce was going to join in this embarrassing moment.
“Come up here. I need you to look at something.”
Degan was still on his knees in a pool of water. “Um—sorry ’bout that.”
“Get away from me!”
Hadrian moved up the line as Wyatt, Elden, and Myron pressed themselves against the walls to let him pass, each one looking at him curiously.
“What did he do?” Arista whispered as he reached her.
“Nothing, really.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You punched him for no reason?”
“Well, no, but—it’s complicated. I’m not even sure I understand it. It was sort of like a reflex, I guess.”
“A… reflex?” she said.
“I told him I was sorry.”
“Anytime today would be nice,” Royce said.
Arista stepped aside, looking at him suspiciously as he passed.
“What was all that about?” Alric asked as he approached.
“I, ah—I punched Gaunt in the face.”
“Good for you,” Alric told him.
“About time someone did,” Mauvin said. “I’m just sorry you beat me to it.”
“What do you make of this?” Royce asked, still on his knees and pointing to something on the ground beside his lantern.
Hadrian bent down. It was a leather string with a series of stone beads, feathers, and what looked like chicken bones threaded through it.
“It’s a Trajan ankle bracelet,” he told them. “Worn for luck by warriors of the Ankor tribe of the Ghazel.”
“The ends aren’t torn,” Royce said. “But look how they are bent and twisted. I think it just came untied. And it is partially buried under the dirt, so I am thinking it’s been here awhile. Regardless, we are in their neighborhood, so we’d better start moving a bit more cautiously. See if you can keep the chatter down to a minimum.”
Hadrian looked at the bracelet and caught Royce by the arm as he was about to move forward again.
“Here,” he said, keeping his body positioned to block the view of the rest of the party. He placed Alverstone into Royce’s hand.
“I was wondering where that went.”
“Time to re-claw the cat, I think,” Hadrian said. “Just be a good boy, okay?”
“Look who’s talking.”