‘They say the Bulgars have been raiding his lines from the north.’ Arbasdos chuckled. ‘Perhaps Khan Tervel’s men will do the job for us. I heard the only thing an Arab fears more than winter is a Bulgar night-raid.’

‘The Bulgars are wild. And cannot be trusted.’ Leo suddenly spun around. ‘I want you to find out what Maslama intends.’

‘Me?’

‘In the east, you had a spy who served us well. Do you have her with you here, in the city?’

Arbasdos’s face clouded for a second. ‘I think I could find her—’

‘Good. Make a plan. See it accomplished. No delay.’

When a player could not see his opponent’s next move, there was only one thing to do.

Cheat.

‘Your wounds heal fast.’ Lilla’s finger traced the weal of pink flesh across Erlan’s thigh, her touch light as gossamer.

‘I have a good healer.’ He smiled, catching her wrist just before her fingertip could tease him in earnest. He pulled her hand to his face and kissed her palm.

She closed her fingers on the invisible trace of his lips. ‘You’re lucky. Men fight with steel. They bleed. They die or else they live. The Norns decide. The wounds of the heart don’t heal so easily.’

‘You think I carry none of those?’

‘I know you do.’ Lilla pulled herself up the bed and rolled onto her back next to him. ‘Although you tell me nothing of them.’

‘Why should I burden you with them? Aren’t they mine to bear?’

‘Why, indeed?’ she said with a scoff, turning away from him.

‘Hey.’ He caught her shoulder. ‘You’re safe here. We’re both safe. We have each other.’

‘Aye, we’re safe. For now. But what are we doing here, Erlan? And how long must we be here, trapped like salmon in a flood-pool?’

‘The siege could be months more. Years even. We have to be patient.’

‘I don’t want to be patient,’ she snapped. ‘Every day we are here is another day that Thrand drives his claws deeper into my father’s kingdom. He’s a traitor. . . A monster,’ she murmured in an afterthought.

Erlan’s eyes narrowed, watching the lines around her mouth crease. These were new. They lent her face a hardness not there before. ‘What did he do to you?’

Her eyes snapped up at his. ‘It’s not what he did. It’s what he will do. He’s going to run the land to ruin.’

‘So let him,’ said Erlan. ‘Is it so bad to stay here? What if we made a home here? The emperor plainly favours us. If only the Arab threat could be broken. . . we could make a life here.’