Sumur drew a knife from his belt, placed its tip against the palm of his left hand, and pushed. It was a slow, deliberate movement, the knife tip disappeared fraction by fraction into Sumur’s hand. And all the while Sumur stared blankly at Jael.

Ulfilas felt himself wincing.

‘Enough,’ Jael said with a nervous laugh.

Sumur stopped.

‘You are sure?’ Calidus asked.

‘Yes. Yes. Sumur, take the blade out.’

He did, one smooth pull, then cutting the edge of his linen shirt and tying a strip around his palm. Ulfilas saw one drop of dark blood hit the floor.

‘Well?’ Nathair said.

‘He is loyal,’ Jael said. ‘Of that there is no dispute.’

‘If you still have concerns then keep Fram as well. Who said we kings should only have one first-sword?’

Jael smiled at that, though Ulfilas could tell he was still not completely happy about this new arrangement.

‘How can I take someone of such skill and devotion away from you, Nathair? If I am at risk from my enemies then surely you, our high king, are in greater danger, and so would need his skills more than I.’

Nathair smiled. ‘That is not a problem – you must not concern yourself about that. And to prove it I’m going to leave you with another score of his sword-kin. Consider it an honour guard.’

‘I must protest,’ Jael said, almost squirming in his seat. ‘You cannot set aside such fearsome warriors on my behalf.’

Nathair waved a hand in the air, a dismissal. ‘I told you, that is not an issue. I have a thousand more making camp beyond your walls that are just like him.’

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

CORALEN

Coralen pushed a branch out of her way, stepped onto a rotted and fallen trunk and jumped down, avoiding a patch of dark-vine that would stick to her boots and burn her fingertips if she touched it, all the while moving through the forest as quietly as she could manage. She’d had years of practice during her years with Rath’s crew.

But no amount of woodland hunting and living in forests could have prepared me for this.

Forn was like no other place she’d ever seen, dark, oppressive and enormous. The trees were on average as thick as a fortress tower, looming so high above that the forest canopy seemed like green-tinged clouds. Daylight was a nimbus glow high above, leaking down upon them like misted copper, most of the time the level of light hovering somewhere between twilight and full dark. The foliage upon the ground was sometimes just flat forest litter with clear spaces wide enough to pull two wains through, sometimes it was such a snarl of bush, thicket and thorn that Balur and his giants could not cut a way through it.