‘Thank you, Trout. You always had a way of reining me in.’

‘Sarcasm ill fits you, milord. Besides, conscience has an ugly face, most times.’ And he smiled to make even more ghastly his visage.

‘Still,’ Kagamandra said, ‘if a war is in the offing, what are we doing here?’

Trout pulled a chair close and slumped down in it. He squinted at the flames of the hearth. From somewhere in the kitchen, there was a shout and pots clanged as Igur Lout’s new assistants once more got underfoot. ‘Aye,’ Trout said. ‘Braphen said as much, too. It’s that damned itch, isn’t it? Takes us all. Riding out, fuck the winter and all that. Just riding out, back into war.’

‘Feeling old, Trout?’ Kagamandra asked quietly.

‘We all are, is my bet, sir. And still…’ He shook his head, half his face twisting into a grin as he glanced at Kagamandra. ‘We could do some damage, hey? I was never much for Urusander’s bleatings, and Hunn Raal’s a pig and I don’t expect that’s changed any. But I wonder, sir, what happens when you find yourself facing Scara Bandaris across that field? Will the pranks continue when it’s life and death on the bloody line?’

‘The notion has occurred to me,’ Kagamandra replied. ‘I cannot say what clout Scara possesses among the high command in the Legion. If I am able, I will speak to him and attempt to dissuade him. This civil war is a bitter legacy of our past triumphs.’

‘Scara’s would be a lone voice,’ Trout said.

‘No. There is another. Captain Sharenas.’

Trout’s gaze narrowed on his lord, and then he nodded, returning his attention to the hearth. ‘Need more wood,’ he said, grunting as he rose. ‘Cold in the bones won’t do, if we’re to ride.’

Kagamandra smiled at his old friend.

Trout paused. ‘What of the Wardens?’

‘I’ll put it to them, but to be honest, Trout, I think the fight’s out of this bunch.’

‘You begin to speak like a soldier again, milord. I’ve missed that. I’ll get some wood.’

Kagamandra watched the man depart.

From almost directly above came a rhythmic thumping, while clanging and Lout’s ongoing harangue continued in the kitchen. Outside, children and beasts frolicked in the snow.

He rubbed at his face. Ah, Sharenas. I cannot stay in one place, it seems. Snapping jaws upon my flanks, I am inclined to bolt.

My betrothed? I cannot say. Together and apart, we travel lost to each other, as the fates demand.

This keep seems paltry and small. Not a place she could call home, and I’ll not insult her with the offer.

A child outside attempted a howl, and moments later the hostages gave answer.

Shivering, Kagamandra looked to the ebbing fire, but found little heat there. Trout had best hurry with that wood.

CHAPTER NINETEEN