Sovereign

That would be me, he said to himself. Lynan the plague, never Lynan the conqueror. And never Lynan the king.

'They will learn,' he said aloud. He turned to Ager. 'When we left, my friend, did you ever think we would return with an army at our back?'

Ager shrugged. 'At the time I thought the exile was permanent. Truly, I did not think we would ever return, with or without an army.'

'This city is not built for a siege.'

'No. Only the foot of the ridge is fortified. Once past that, even the palace is open to us. Kendra always relied on the provinces to buffer it from any attack, that and the strength of its navy.'

'I will change that,' Lynan said. 'I will make this city impregnable.'

Ager glanced sideways at Lynan. 'Impregnable against what? Once you take Kendra you will have the whole Kingdom. Those provinces in the north most likely to oppose you—Hume and Chandra—you now control, and we learned from Eynon's messenger last night that Aman—the only province in the south that could oppose you—is held for you. Even the Kingdom's traditional enemy, Haxus, is in your hands.'

'If I can do all of this, someone else can,' Lynan said. He sat straighter in the saddle, and put a hand over his side. The wound had been cleaned and bandaged tightly, but it still throbbed with pain. The Chetts had draughts that could ease the pain, but they also dulled the senses and he could not afford that today. He nodded to the wall immediately below them; along its length were finely garbed soldiers, their armour flashing in the sun. 'Royal Guards. The best troops in Theare.'

Ager snorted. 'I once thought so. Before our exile I trained them for a while. But now I have fought with the Chetts, and seen what they can do with some close-order discipline and a short sword in their hands. The Royal Guards will not stop us.'

'I would not see the city too damaged,' Lynan said.

Ager did not answer.

'I do not want its citizens to hate me.'

'As soon as you attack their city they will hate you,' Ager said. 'Don't spoil it for the Chetts, your Majesty. They have come a long way for this. Give them a day. After that you can call them off. But give them a day.'

Lynan swallowed. 'I wonder if the people in Kendra have any idea what is about to happen to them?'

'They think they do, but except for veterans from the Slaver War, no one in this city has seen a battle up close.'

They were joined by Korigan. 'Your army is in place, your Majesty,' she said formally.

'Then start the descent.'

Areava stood on the south gallery. From here she could not see Ebrius Ridge and the fluttering pennants of her brother's army. She thought it obscene that his flag carried the Key of Union as its symbol. Before her spread her beautiful city, sacred Kendra, capital of a Kingdom that had turned out to be more dream than reality. She tried to imprint what she could see on her mind so that whatever happened in the next few hours she would never forget what it was she was fighting for.

It is not between me and Lynan. It is between order and chaos, between civilisation and barbarity, between the natural order and usurpation by ambition. With a terrible sadness she realised that whether or not Berayma had been murdered, Lynan inevitably would have become the enemy of Grenda Lear. She wondered if her mother had seen that, and perhaps had given him the Key of Union in the vain hope it would show him what would be lost in a civil war.

There was a polite cough behind her.

'Olio.'

'Sister. You look more than formidable in your armour.'

She turned to face him. He was dressed in armour too. 'You look strange kitted up for war.'

'I feel strange. I think I am too small for the breastplate—'

'No, I mean you are destined for other things. Usharna showed great prescience in giving you the Key of the Heart. Where is it, by the way?'

Olio tapped the breastplate. 'Underneath. It did not seem right, resting on armour.'

She left the south gallery, hooking one arm through his. As they walked they listened for a moment to the strange sound of their armour clanking in the empty hallways.

'I'm sorry about Orkid,' Olio said, and felt his sister's grip tighten. 'I know how close you two were. Imagine Dejanus killing him like that. I knew they were rivals, but I was sure they had been friends once. And then for you to have to save your own life by killing Dejanus! The whole world seems to be upside down.'

'Are the hospices ready?' she asked, changing the subject. 'I fear we'll be needing them soon.'

'We have two ready and fully equipped.'

They emerged into the courtyard. Waiting for them there were the knights of the Twenty Houses; some were mounted, but most were on foot: there would be little use for cavalry in a street-by-street fight for the city, the one fact that gave them hope against the Chetts, who traditionally fought on horseback. Among the knights was Duke Holo Amptra, his son Galen and Queen Charion. Areava felt a pang of jealousy that their armour was so obviously dull and battle scarred and hers as shiny as a new coin.

'Your Majesty,' Duke Amptra greeted her, bowing deeply.

'Dear Uncle, the Twenty Houses have outdone themselves.'

'We are always ready to serve the throne,' he said.

Aye, but not necessarily the monarch, she said to herself, understanding the distinction. But what of that now? she asked herself, and thought of the army about to attack them. Nothing, she answered herself. Nothing at all.

Edaytor Fanhow came through the main gate, carrying his weight well despite his puffing. He bowed to Areava, gave a nod and half a smile to Olio.

'How go the theurgia on the city's behalf, Prelate?' she asked him.

He looked despondent. 'Pitifully, your Majesty. Every spell they make is easily defeated by a counterspell from whatever magikers Lynan's army has employed.'

'They must be Chetts,' Charion said.

'How can they be?' Edaytor asked. The question was rhetorical and no one answered. 'They have no formal structure to control and employ magik. I can only think they are using magikers from Haxus, although none of us had any idea they were this far advanced.'

'Then we will rely on our strength and courage,' Duke Amptra said, but in a subdued voice that almost suggested strength and courage would not be enough.

'I will need your knights as a reserve,' Areava told the duke. 'Keep some mounted as a flying column.'

She made for the gate.

'Where are you going, sister?' Olio asked.

She looked at him in surprise. 'To the wall, of course. My place is by my people.'

'Your Majesty, you cannot do that!' Galen said, shocked.

'And why not?' Areava demanded frostily.

'You are our leader,'- he explained. 'You cannot afford the luxury of risking your life on the front line. You must stay here and command.'

'Command what? What order would you have me give? We hold the enemy at the wall or we lose the city.'

Against that there was no argument. Galen and Charion glanced at each other and nodded simultaneously, 'Then we will come with you,' Charion said. 'If the wall is good enough for one queen, it can bear the honour of supporting two.'

'And where Charion goes, so go I,' Galen said.

Areava smiled at them. 'Very well.'

'And me!' Olio cried. 'Don't leave me out of this!'

'You are the holder of the Healing Key, brother,' Areava said. 'And if I fall you must take over. Your place is here where you can do the most good.'

'But—!'

'No, Olio!' Areava said sharply. 'That is a command.' She went to him then and held him to her, and whispered in his ear: 'Please, sweet brother, obey me in this.'