She watched him walk off. As she herself turned to go, she glanced up to see her cousin Kelewulf standing at the window of the building he occupied, looking down on them all. How apt, she thought. Nearly two years had passed since Kelewulf’s father had been killed and her own had taken the throne. The kingdom was flourishing; Mirvar was much loved by his people, including, it would seem, his young nephew, who made a point of always appearing deferential and cheerful in his uncle’s presence. Astrid, however, could not bring herself to trust her cousin. She had seen how the smile dropped from his face whenever he thought nobody was watching, the look replaced with one of disdain. One evening last summer she’d been out by the stables when she heard someone talking in a low voice. Intrigued, she’d crept closer to one of the stalls. Kelewulf was there grooming his horse, brushing the creature’s flanks and muttering to himself. She couldn’t catch most of what he was saying, but she distinctly heard the words ‘Volken savages’, ‘brutes’ and ‘worthless thugs’. She’d moved away as silently as she could. Disturbed by what had happened, she’d gone to speak to her father. But Mirvar had waved away her concerns, telling her she must have misheard her cousin and how she should not eavesdrop on people.

He’s a snake with two heads, she told herself. One head that he shows to my father, brother and the other people of Stromgard, and another that he keeps hidden. And that other side is the true Kelewulf Rivengeld. He’s … dangerous.

Her brother Erik was too good, too innocent to see it. He still thought of Kelewulf as the innocent boy he’d grown up with.

‘Why does he go on those long journeys alone,’ she would ask him, ‘without a guard or anyone to accompany him? What is he hiding? Where does he go?’

‘He’s still grieving,’ Erik would say. ‘It’s his way of dealing with his loss.’

Loss! She remembered the day of Horst’s funeral, when the former king’s body had been sent out to sea in his longship, surrounded by his riches. As the burning arrows were fired out into the wooden boat, Kel had turned his head away and raised a hand to hide his face, the movement causing Astrid to look in his direction. She doubted anyone else had seen it, but in the instant before her cousin’s hand obscured his features, she could swear he’d been smiling. She’d resolved to keep a vigilant eye on her dark-haired cousin ever since.

As she watched him now, he turned away from the window. Not for the first time, she wondered what her cousin was up to.

*    *    *