As for Ivar himself, he looked to be in his element: brown-haired, brown-eyed, with brown skin that showed he spent every moment he could outdoors. He had the mix of environmental awareness, sureness, and calluses that proved he had gotten those muscles through actual work, and not “vanity exercise” like lesser nobles—idle dilettantes—pursued. Hacking at stuffed targets didn’t give Ivar his build—hacking through wilderness did.

I think Delia is going to get on with him, came the unexpected thought, not an unwelcome one. Kordas was very well aware, and had been for quite some time, that his young sister-in-law was infatuated with him, and that was absolutely not something he wanted to encourage. But perhaps her attention could be redirected to Ivar . . .

Not overtly, though. That’s the surest way to get her angry with me. But maybe Isla could do something in that direction.

“So, I’ve already figured out which Charger I’m going to put you with,” Kordas said aloud, as they headed back to the Valdemar manor. “She’s a four-year-old mare, she’s a bit smaller than the average, and she’s already got a bit of a reputation in the stable for being protective. That means you’re going to have to do a fair bit of work to get her to accept your dog.”

“What do you mean by ‘a reputation for being protective’?” Ivar asked.

“Some loose dogs got into the pasture. Apparently, she stomped them flat, I presume because they were trying to chase the other horses.” Kordas cast a glance at Ivar, but he seemed impressed, rather than alarmed. “I don’t know if they were feral. I just know they weren’t any of the manor dogs.”

“Has she ever gone after any of the manor dogs?” Ivar asked—a good question, in Kordas’s mind.

“No, but she knows them,” he pointed out. “And they don’t go into the pastures unless they’re with a handler.”

“Bay will be fine,” Ivar assured him. “He’s always on his best manners around horses. And I’ll make sure to introduce them properly. Oh, I have a question. Who is it safe to talk to, about you know what?”

“Assume no one, unless they bring it up with specifics and first let you know they’re warded,” Kordas cautioned. “Outside of the mages, most of my household doesn’t know.” He had a question of his own, though. “Why is it you’re so eager to take this on, anyway?”