Grinsa met the duke’s glare, their eyes locking. “Last I heard, my lord, you were saying much the same thing about all men of Curgh and Glyndwr. Yet here you are fighting in the service of the king. Isn’t it possible that you’re as wrong about me as you were about them?”
Aindreas pulled his sword free. “You white-hair bastard!”
“That’s enough from both of you,” Gershon said, eyeing one of them and then the other. “It doesn’t matter now. The Aneirans have surrendered.” He faced his captain again. “Collect their weapons, see to their wounds, and prepare them for review by the king. I don’t want them mistreated, but neither will I tolerate any resistance on their part.” He cast a look at Keziah as he said this last, but she offered no response. As the king’s men began to herd the Solkarans into a tight cluster, Gershon regarded Caius and Lathrop. “Take your armies forward to the king,” he said. “I don’t know how his soldiers are faring, but I’m certain he’ll welcome your aid.”
“There’s no need,” Fotir said. “The empire’s men have broken off their attack. At least for the moment.”
They all turned to look northward. Indeed, it did seem that Braedon’s warriors were in retreat.
“Then perhaps we should find His Majesty, and ask him how he wants us to proceed.”
The others agreed and after leaving their captains with instructions to make camp and watch over the prisoners, Gershon, the dukes, and the three Qirsi rode to the front lines. They found Kearney with Javan of Curgh, Marston of Shanstead, and Rab Avkar, Heneagh’s swordmaster. The queen of Sanbira was there as well, with four of her nobles, including a dark-haired young woman who the night before had eyed Grinsa and the other Qirsi with manifest distrust.
Reaching the king, Gershon dismounted and dropped to one knee, as did all the others, including Aindreas.
Kearney, limping slightly, strode to his swordsmaster, ordered Gershon to rise, and gathered him in a fierce embrace. “Well met, Gershon! Well met!” he said. “All this time I’ve felt like I’ve been fighting with one hand.” He released the man and looked him up and down. “I take it you’re well.”
Trasker was grinning. “I am, Your Majesty. Thank you. And you?”
“Well enough.” He looked past Gershon to the dukes. “Lord Tremain, Lord Labruinn, I’m deeply grateful to both of you. I’ve no doubt that your counsel and your men were of tremendous value to the swordmaster. I believe it’s time the people of this realm stopped referring to the ‘minor houses.’ As far as I can tell, there’s no such thing.”
Lathrop and Caius bowed.
“Thank you, my liege,” Tremain said. “We did only what any man of the realm would have done for his king.” As soon as he spoke the words, Lathrop paled, casting a furtive look at Aindreas.
“What do you think of that, Lord Kentigern?” Kearney asked.
Aindreas glowered at the king, but after a moment he nodded, as if compelled to do so by some unseen hand. “I’m sure my lord duke is correct, my liege.”
“Is that why you’re here?”
Neither man had moved, though it seemed that both had weapons drawn.
“I’m here to defend Eibithar, and to strike back at the men who attacked Kentigern.”
“No other reason?”
“None that I can think of, my liege.”
“I see.” The king held Aindreas’s gaze for another moment, then turned to Keziah, as if dismissing the duke. “How did you end up with Gershon and the others, Archminister? I thought you were behind our lines. When you weren’t there, I…” His face colored briefly. “I grew concerned.”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. Grinsa suggested that the three of us ride back to stop the Aneirans’ advance. We didn’t know at the time that the swordmaster was pursuing them.”
“What?” Javan asked. He had been watching Aindreas all this time, as a seaman might watch an approaching storm. But now he stared at Keziah, a slight frown on his lean face. “The three of you thought you could stand against a thousand Solkaran soldiers? Are you truly that powerful, or just that foolish?”
“All three of us have mists and winds, my lord,” she said, giving no indication that his question discomfited her. “We were afraid that Aneira’s archers would attack the king’s army from behind. We merely wished to protect His Majesty.”
“Every time I turn around you seem to grow more powerful,” Javan said, looking directly at Grinsa. “I find myself wondering if your magic knows any bounds at all.”
Aindreas was staring at Grinsa as well. “I thought you were just a gleaner.”
“Grinsa’s a bit more than he seems, my lord,” Fotir said. “But there can be no question of his loyalty to the realm.”
“More than you seem, eh?” Aindreas asked, his eyes narrowing. “Is that how you got the boy out?”
“What boy?” Javan demanded, though clearly he knew.
“Yours, of course. This man put a hole in the wall of my castle that I could have walked through.”
Grinsa opened his mouth to deny it, but before he could Fotir said, “No, Lord Kentigern, that was me.”
“But you said that you couldn’t have done such a thing. Shurik told me much the same.”
“Normally I couldn’t have. But that night called for extraordinary measures, and somehow Qirsar gave me the power to win Lord Tavis’s freedom.”
In strictest terms it wasn’t a lie. Fotir had used his power on the wall, though without Grinsa weaving the minister’s magic with his own, augmenting and controlling it, he never would have succeeded. As for Grinsa’s presence there being an act of the god, the gleaner couldn’t say that he believed this, but neither could he say with complete certainty that it wasn’t so. In any case, Fotir’s confession appeared to satisfy the duke and lay the matter to rest. Or so he thought.
“It seems that our Qirsi friends are full of surprises,” said Marston of Shanstead, whose distrust of all Qirsi had nearly led the king to banish Cresenne and Keziah from Audun’s Castle.
Grinsa saw the dark-haired duchess nod slightly, her eyes fixed on Marston.
“You wish to say something more, Lord Shanstead?” Kearney asked, his voice hardening.
“Nothing I haven’t said to you before, my liege.”
“Fine then. I’ve heard it once, I needn’t hear it again.”
The thane lowered his eyes. “Yes, my liege.”
The queen of Sanbira cleared her throat. “Perhaps, Your Majesty, we should continue this conversation later. Braedon’s men have retreated for now, but I daresay they could renew their assault at any moment.”
Kearney nodded. “You’re right, of course, Your Highness.” He looked at Gershon. “I want the soldiers who’ve just arrived added to our lines as quickly as possible. Swordmaster, you’re to assume command of the King’s Guard-take the men who have been under your authority and combine them with those I took north from the City of Kings.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Lord Tremain, I’d like your men to join with the Curgh army. Lord Curgh, with Gershon’s men joining my own, the King’s Guard will take the center. I want you and Lathrop on the eastern flank.”
“Of course, my liege.”
“Lord Labruinn, I want your force in the west, along with Thorald’s army and what’s left of the army from Heneagh.” He paused, looking at Aindreas. “Lord Kentigern, you and your men will go with Caius. For now you’ll be under his command.”
“Very well.”
“You and I have a good deal more to discuss. But I’m afraid that’ll have to wait.”
Aindreas’s face reddened, but he merely nodded. “As you wish, my liege.”
“Your Highness, I would ask you to keep your army where it’s been today, unless of course you have another idea.”
“We are here at your request, Your Majesty,” Olesya said. “Use us as you will.”
The king smiled and bowed. “My thanks. That’s all,” he said, looking at the others. “I hope the empire’s men will think twice before attacking again. They’ve seen how easily their Aneiran allies were defeated, and they know that we’ve added several thousand men to our defenses. Still, I agree with the queen that we must remain watchful. I want your armies positioned quickly. They’ve surprised us before and may well do so again.”