‘Is that so?’
She nodded. Kirin felt his gut twist. ‘We were childhood sweethearts. I thought I’d lost Kirin for good,’ she said, giving Kirin a sweet side smile. ‘But then he came back. No warning,’ she said archly and Kirin loved her all the more for trying so hard when he knew how frightened she was. ‘He just arrived back on the island. “Hello, Lily,” he said, as if we’d only parted a few days previous.’ She gave a soft laugh. ‘I’m embarrassed to say my heart leapt. I thought I was over him, particularly as I was seriously considering Link Chervil’s proposal of marriage.’
‘Link Chervil?’ Kirin repeated in mock astonishment. ‘What an oaf.’
‘Link’s doing very well, if you don’t mind.’
‘What does Link do for a living?’ Stracker asked and Kirin knew he wasn’t in the least bit interested. This was a test.
‘Link is a —’
‘I asked your wife, Master Felt. Mrs Felt?’
Lily hesitated, but tried to cover her nervousness with a small smile. ‘Why, Link is a miller.’
Kirin died inside.
Loethar was breathing hard. ‘Elka, stop,’ he croaked.
She turned around and came back to him. ‘Are you in pain?’
He shook his head, unable to talk, as he sucked in air. ‘Can’t breathe.’
‘Does your head ache?’
‘As though it may explode.’
She nodded. ‘Sit down.’ He needed no further encouragement, and dropped immediately to the ground. ‘I think you’ve got what we call “mountain sickness". It’s the air up this high. It does affect some people this way if they’re not used to moving around at such a height.’
‘I’m a tribal man from the plains,’ he said, trying to grin but it quickly turned into a grimace. ‘All right, now I’m hurting. Everything hurts.’
‘So much for the barbarian warlord.’
‘I was never either of those things,’ he complained. ‘That’s a title the Set royals gave me. I’m a king in my own right, of the Steppes even before I took over the empire.’
‘Forgive me.’
He waved a tired hand. ‘Is this going to get any easier?’
She shook her head. ‘Only with many moons of practice. So, first things first. Watch how I’m breathing.’ She began to takevery quick but deep breaths. ‘This will fill your chest with air faster than trying to breathe normally at this height.’
‘Like this?’ he asked, trying to mimic her.
‘Good. A breath every five counts if you can and as deep as you can achieve. And drink. You have to take on more water than normal. Believe me, it will really help.’
He immediately swigged from the water sack she handed him.
‘Keep sipping. It’s important,’ Elka urged. ‘Now,’ she said, sounding distracted as she scanned the landscape, ‘what we have to do is get you lower.’
‘Lower?’
‘You can’t stay this high. Your sickness will only get worse before it gets better. And we don’t have time to spend getting you used to this height. We’ll have to descend. The problem is I suspect Leo knows his way around those lower levels.’
‘Let’s face it, Elka, after living around you I suspect de Vis knows how to handle the higher levels, too. We’re trapped.’
‘Yes, but Gavriel doesn’t know the geography of the higher altitudes as the king must of the lower forest. Besides, we can outwit Gavriel, I know how he thinks. But not the king.’
‘Don’t call him that.’
‘Why? Does it offend you?’
‘Yes, damn you. I am the true King.’
‘And just look at you.’ She laughed but not unkindly.
Loethar found himself smiling bleakly. ‘I’m a picture of power, right?’
She helped haul him back to his feet. ‘Come on, my lord. You can fight it out for the title another time.’
‘Why are you helping me?’
‘Frankly, I don’t know. Behind me is the man I love. And even if I find his loyalty to Leo pig-headed, I couldn’t tell you why I’ve chosen to betray Gavriel and side with the enemy! The problem, I suppose, is that I expected so much more of Leo.’
‘No, the problem, my beautiful mountain goat, is that you didn’t expect to like me as much as you do. You’d anticipated some sort of thuggish monster and what you’ve found during our journey into the forest is the opposite. Handsome too.’ He gave her a smile.
‘Lo save me. Are all the Valisars this arrogant?’ She pushed him forwards and they travelled in silence until he needed to stop again.
She watched him settle himself against a tree. Her brow knitted together. ‘Do you hate him?’
‘Who, Leonel?’ She nodded and he paused while he considered her question. ‘In a way, like you, now that I’ve met him I’ve changed my opinion. I wanted him dead like his father. But now that I see him, I see a young man desperately trying to fulfil what his father had been force feeding him, insisting he achieve since he was born. These last few hours I’ve put myself into Leo’s position and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I would have acted no differently. So I don’t hate him. I pity him. He is compelled — as I am — to claim what he believes his.’
‘But now neither of you have it. Your brute of a brother does.’
‘He’s my half-brother. We shared a womb, that is all. I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him, nor he me — as you witnessed.’
‘I was surprised that you didn’t fight back.’
‘Perhaps it was a mistake. He is fearless but he is a lout, never did bother to learn the art of war or how to fight with skill rather than brute force.’ He gave a small sigh. ‘I didn’t even bother to arm myself properly. I anticipated a fight, but I should have anticipated the ambush. Somehow I wanted to believe our family had been raised to fight fairly. I am not his enemy. I never was. But he hates me and,’ he shrugged, ‘I am not overly fond of him.’
‘You seemed ready to die.’ She shook her head. ‘I mean, you appeared to accept your fate.’
He nodded. ‘It was a strange moment. It felt fitting at the time. I think I’d become disillusioned. My mother should nothave died — certainly not the way she did. I have never loved my wife. I have never loved a woman.’ Elka looked astonished. ‘It’s true. This sounds arrogant but it’s genuinely the reason: I’ve never found anyone who matched me. Valya is beautiful but I am not a man who chases outward beauty. I love things only if they appeal to me on all levels. Valya is cold, calculating. She is driven by a poisonous bitterness that dates back well before she ever knew of my existence. The tragedy is that Valya, I believe, does love me … and in the right way.’ He shook his head with regret. ‘She is a stunning woman but her looks are constantly compromised by a grasping, shallow, vain, and cruel personality. She actually enjoys watching people suffer. I suppose many would level the same accusation my way,’ he said, when he saw the look of astonishment flit across Elka’s face. ‘But when I punish people my only satisfaction is knowing that I am right. I don’t torture for the sake of it.’