‘You don’t seem to think Loethar was mad.’
‘I am not loyal to Loethar. What I think of him is irrelevant. What I think of you affects me profoundly.’
‘Well, Gav, I think you’ll have to get used to the notion that in order for me to claim my throne I need the same protection my rivals have. I suspect Loethar will have his aegis soon enough — despite what you think about the Davarigon’s intentions — and we already know that Piven has his. Are you happy to have me that vulnerable?’
Gavriel took a deep breath. Then he said quietly, ‘Leo, you were born vulnerable! You were Crown Prince. History attests that there is always going to be someone who wants that crown. You wanted yours handed down on a golden plate. Well, that didn’t happen. Another Valisar wanted it. Crowns are won and crowns are fought for, Leo. My father died trying to protect it for his king. Your father died trying to give you a chance to claim it. So claim it! Fight for it. And don’t give me that petulant story that no one’s fighting fair. Life isn’t fair! Lo knows I’ve learned that the hard way. Neither of us has lived a fair life but it’s no use you bleating about it. But what you are suggesting is morally reprehensible. Stealing a child’s life — or anyone else’s, for that matter — cannot be justified by your wanting the crown. Killing to defend oneself or in war is one thing; killing in cold blood because you want something that another has is just plain murder.’
‘I wasn’t planning to kill anyone.’
‘Tell Roddy that — it would be living death and you know it.’
Leo walked away and Gavriel waited. He watched the king he had loved, the friend he would have given his life to protect, turn and face him with a set to his jaw that Gavriel recognised with dismay. He had lost the argument.
‘I need the protection that is my birthright. If Cyrena thought that trammelling was wrong she would not have made it possible when Cormoron first walked this land. This, right now, is probably why such a magic as the aegis was given to our family, to ensure that one of the four of us would hold the crown.’
Gavriel felt his throat close. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘That’s right, you didn’t know about my sister, did you, Gav?’ Leo didn’t wait for Gavriel to answer. ‘Oh yes, my father made provision for her. I don’t know how or where. All I know is that her death was a sham for the sake of Loethar’s horde.’
‘But she’d be only ten,’ Gavriel argued. Suddenly Ravan’s and Roddy’s curious conversation began to make sense. They musthave known about the princess — that’s who they’d been talking about. They were travelling to the mountains for her! And if she was there, perhaps Corbel was with her. His heart leapt with excitement but an inner voice told him not to share any of this with Leo, who was still talking.
‘… nevertheless is still an heir and who knows how empowered she might be? She might be the most powerful of all. And as long as I have nothing to protect me, I am the least able to contest that crown and yet I believe in my heart that I am the right sovereign. I am the eldest child of Brennus. I am Leonel, Ninth of the Valisars. It is not my fault or my concern that my grandfather laid his seed in the stony ground of the Likurian Steppes or that his crown passed to his younger son, my father. The way the line has gone is not my doing. But I am the result. I am the king. I believe this with all of my heart.’
‘So do I, Leo.’
‘Then fight for me, not against me!’
‘I will not fight for you if it means butchering another person in cold blood. You don’t need me to do that.’
And now Leo turned his suddenly cold blue eyes on his longtime friend. ‘I don’t need you at all, Gavriel de Vis.’
Gavriel stared at him in disbelief. It felt like an eternity passed between them. He felt short of breath and as though his heart was beating erratically.
‘So be it,’ he finally said. ‘I will take my leave.’
Leo smirked. ‘Make good distance. Next time I see you, I will kill you, Gavriel de Vis.’
‘I know you will try,’ Gavriel said. He picked up his weapons and bowed. ‘Your majesty,’ he said solemnly before he turned and walked away, not once looking back. He did not want his king to see his tears.
They found Loethar where she’d left him; she really wouldn’t have been surprised to find him gone but her heart leapt to seehim watchful but nevertheless patiently awaiting her return. He seemed to guess her thoughts.
‘I made a promise,’ he said with a resigned smile. She grinned. ‘And you must be one of the horses she went off to purchase,’ he said to Janus, who frowned and cast a glance at Elka.
‘This is Physic Janus.’
‘Forgive me, Janus. As you can see I’m bored and resorting to childish humour.’
Janus hadn’t stopped frowning. ‘You know my name, may I know yours?’ Loethar glanced at Elka enquiringly. In the hesitant pause, Janus followed his line of sight back to the giantess. ‘You’re being very mysterious, Elka.’
‘I have to be,’ she said to him before looking back at Loethar. ‘I think we can trust him.’
Loethar shrugged and winced. ‘This is your idea.’
She sighed. ‘Janus, you don’t recognise him?’
Janus regarded his patient. ‘He looks like a horse’s arse. Sorry.’
Loethar blinked and when Elka gave a small chuckle he turned his gaze back to her in a soft glare of astonishment.
‘I’ll explain,’ she said, enjoying his confusion. ‘Janus has a problem.’
‘I’ll say,’ Loethar replied. ‘You called me handsome just hours earlier.’
‘I didn’t call you handsome. You did,’ she corrected. ‘Janus has an affliction that compels him to say outrageous remarks. It doesn’t prevent him from being a good physic.’
‘And you know this how?’ Janus asked, smiling softly at her.
‘I know,’ she replied, turning to the physic. ‘I trust you with our emperor.’
‘Emp—?’ Janus’s head swung back, his expression shocked, as he looked at Loethar. ‘No, it can’t be.’
‘I’m embarrassed and disappointed to say it is,’ Loethar replied. ‘I am Elka’s prisoner.’
‘She has wonderful breasts,’ Janus said. ‘Forgive me,’ he added, looking instantly contrite.
‘She does. You’re forgiven,’ Loethar said.
‘Right, gentlemen,’ Elka said, her tone chilly. ‘Shall we focus on the task at hand?’
‘I’d like to focus on your arse,’ Janus remarked, looking at her with an expression of fresh mortification.
Loethar laughed openly. ‘Marvellous!’
‘Janus, I’ll find a way to close your mouth even if I have to stitch your lips together,’ Elka said sweetly.
Janus pointed at her, his expression a mixture of remorse and defiance. ‘It comes on especially strong when I’m nervous and sober. You were warned.’
She nodded. ‘That’s true, and I will bear the repercussions of my own decision. Can’t you try and concentrate on something else? Like your patient?’
‘This is not a good place to be doing an examination,’ Janus remarked, looking around. ‘My hut —’
‘Is too dangerous,’ Elka finished. ‘I’ll carry Loethar slightly higher up into those trees for coverage. We can’t go any higher, though. He has been suffering from the sickness of height and is barely recovered