Sovereign

'Chandra is about to fall,' Orkid explained carefully. 'The only thing preventing that, and preventing the way to Kendra being open to Lynan and his army of barbarians, is the Great Army in southern Chandra. Your Great Army.'

The news about Tomar's defection was enough to shut up even Dejanus, and the rest of the trip to the harbour passed without a single word of complaint, giving Orkid's conscience the space it needed to agonise over his decision to support Dejanus for command of the Great Army in the first place. He knew in his bones it was a disastrous choice, but desperately hoped the quality and size of the army would be enough to overcome the failings of its general. Anyway, he consoled himself, he had had no choice: Dejanus could have brought them both down if Orkid had not supported him.

When Orkid arrived at the main gate to the palace he saw it was blocked by a group of twenty or so ragtag riders who were arguing with the Royal Guards on duty. He was about to push through and leave it to the guards to sort out when he heard a voice he recognised.

'God,' he said aloud, 'where did he come from?'

Orkid pushed his way through the stamping crowd and grabbed the reins of the horse closest to the gate.

The rider twisted around, his face suddenly angry, mouth open to curse or swear or shout, but instead said in surprise: 'Chancellor?'

'Galen Amptra? It is you!'

'Would you tell this fool of a guard who I am?'

Orkid hesitated—there was no love lost between him and any member of the Twenty Houses—but in this time of emergency petty rivalries were irrelevant. 'It's alright, let them in,' he said to the guard. 'This is the son of Duke Holo Amptra, and I will vouch for him and his fellow knights.'

'We are not all fellow knights,' said a woman's voice. Orkid glanced at the rider next to Galen, but did not recognise her under the dirt and grime.

'I am sorry, madam, I meant no offence—'

'Not "madam", Chancellor,' Galen said. 'This is Queen Charion of Hume.'

Orkid swallowed. 'My apologies, your Majesty. I had no idea—'

'Understandable in my present condition.'

Orkid waved them through but did not let go the reins of Galen's horse. 'The last we heard you were still with Tomar,' he said. 'We assumed he imprisoned or ambushed you when he changed sides.'

'Tomar gave us safe passage,' Charion said. 'We rode straight here.'

'How many of you are there?'

'There are three hundred of us left,' Galen said, despondent. 'We have fought many battles.'

'Did you speak to Tomar?'

'No. It was Barys Malayka who informed us of the changed political situation in Chandra. And he gave us a letter from Tomar to Queen Areava. If you could help us see her right away I would appreciate it.'

The mention of a letter made Orkid's heart miss a beat. 'Do you know what the letter contains?'

Charion withdrew a piece of folded, brown parchment from her saddlebag and showed Orkid it was still sealed with Tomar's red crest.

'The queen is in emergency council right now,' he said, his words tumbling over one another. 'In fact, I was on my way to join her. Give me the letter and I will make sure she receives it.'

Charion did not hesitate to hand it over. 'Thank you. In that case, if you could assign us rooms for us to clean and change into other clothes…'

'My father will be proud to have you under his roof, Charion,' Galen said.

Orkid noticed the sweet smiles that passed between the two. He was not sure whether or not that boded well for him and the court, but it warranted close attention. He never expected a member of the Twenty Houses to invite someone from the provinces to stay with them, even one as high born as Charion. The arrogance of the Twenty Houses had Jong been one of the constants in Orkid's life at court.

'I think it better if I stay here in the palace,' Charion said. 'To do otherwise might offend Areava, and I would not willingly do that. And you forget that your father is of the old nobility, and they regard me in status as not much better than a Kendran washerwoman.'

Galen opened his mouth to protest, but honesty prevented him. Charion was right. 'Very well, but I won't pretend I'm not disappointed. I will be back as soon as I

I can.' He glanced at Orkid. 'After all, I am a member of the council that is meeting, unless Areava has replaced me.'

'The queen would not do that,' Orkid said. No matter how much I might wish it. 'But the queen will not expect you to attend this afternoon after your long journey and all your travails. Report to her this evening.'

'Until then,' Galen said, this time to Charion. They kissed quickly, and he and the other knights quickly left the palace. Orkid called a passing servant across.

'Accommodation for her Majesty Queen Charion of Hume. The royal guest wing. Make sure she has the clothes and toiletries she needs. And see to her horse.'

The servant nodded, looked skeptically at the woman supposed to be a queen, and took the reins of her horse to lead her away.

'Thank you, Chancellor,' she called over her shoulder. 'I will not forget you came to my rescue at the gate.'

'I'm sure,' he said, not quite loudly enough for her to hear. He hurried to his office and carefully unsealed Tomar's letter. As he had been afraid, it detailed Tomar's reasons for siding with Lynan, including an account from Lynan of the events on the night of Berayma's murder. With one important exception—the conclusion that Areava must have been complicit in the plot that put her on the throne—the account was accurate. When he had finished reading it he lit one corner over a candle and watched the parchment burn to a cinder on his desk.

It seemed to Olio that when Areava broke the news to her council that Tomar had declared for Lynan it was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. Mouths gaped open but no one could say a word.

Olio, who was the first to recover from the shock, asked: 'What about the Great Army?'

'Still encamped in south Chandra,' Areava said. 'Dejanus is on his way there right now.'

'So there is still a buffer between Lynan and Kendra?' asked an anxious Shant Tenor.

'Yes. There is a buffer in time as well. It will take Lynan several days for his army to reach Sparro from Daavis, and several days after that for them to reach the south.'

'But Tomar could attack first,' one of the nobles said. 'He need not wait for Lynan.'

'Tomar would not dare attack the Great Army by himself,' Orkid said derisively. 'He is not stupid.'

There was a shocked gasp from the members of the Twenty Houses; even Areava seemed surprised at the chancellor's uncharacteristic outburst.

'By the way, Duke Amptra,' Orkid continued, nonchalantly, addressing another of the nobles, 'your son is safe and waiting for you at home.'

'Galen? He is returned?'

'What is this, Orkid?' Areava demanded.

'Galen and the survivors of the knights were given safe passage back to Kendra from Chandra. They arrived just before the meeting. They have brought Queen Charion with them.'

'Why were they not invited here immediately?'

'I thought it best they have a chance to rest. They were exhausted, and had nothing except the clothes they arrived in.'

'Did they bring anything else with them?' Areava asked. 'A letter or proclamation from Tomar?'

'A letter,' Orkid said carefully. 'It contained nothing but slander and lies.' His eyes flickered. 'Against you, my queen. I burned it in anger.'

'Orkid?'

'I am sorry, your Majesty. I know it was wrong—'

'Very wrong,' she said. There was no anger in her voice, but that seemed to make the judgement worse for

Orkid. 'The letter would have ensured history noted the justness of our cause.'

He bowed his head. 'I realise that now, your Majesty, and apologise to you and the council for my lack of foresight.'