“You have no time. Do you hear me? You have no time. I must have your answer. They are ready to turn away. I cannot drag them farther with empty words. Do you trust me? Will you honor a promise I made in your name?”

Baffled beyond thought, Bifalt chewed the inside of his cheek and stared. If Elgart had asked about trust and promises before the Archpriest took him, the King would have answered without hesitation. But that Elgart was not this one. Too much had happened. Elgart had changed.

Yet surely the man’s essential nature remained? His courage? His quick mind? His loyalty?

King Bifalt owed his friend a debt he could never repay. And his instinctive response was to meet every challenge, especially when he had not chosen it and did not understand what it entailed. Why else had he put aside his loathing for Magisters and Amika and lies by refusing to face Elgart in mortal combat long ago?

“Them?” he croaked.

“I cannot tell you.” The King had never heard Elgart sound so earnest. “That condition was demanded of me. I had to convince them that I spoke for you absolutely. That you would honor any promise I made, even when you did not know who it was for or how it would be used.”

Bifalt flinched. His world was still reeling. He had nowhere to stand except on Elgart’s old friendship.

His voice shook as he asked, “What did you promise them?”

How could he honor any man’s word when he did not know what had been offered in his name?

Elgart did not hesitate. “Rifles, Majesty. I promised five hundred. A thousand would be better.”

That was a number King Bifalt could spare.

He took a deep breath; held it until he regained his balance. As he released it, he sighed, “Then yes. I will honor it.”

An instant of brightness struck Elgart’s face as clouds passed beyond the ridge. So quickly that Bifalt could not stop him, he surged closer, flung his arms around his King.

Just as quickly, he stepped back. “Then see, Majesty,” he said, almost shouting. “See what I have gained in your name.”

At once, he gave a piercing, two-toned whistle. It seemed to echo out over the ridge.

Almost immediately, a rider left the shelter of a lower hill. Cantering, he came straight up the slope.

More men on horseback followed him. Men and women. More and more of them. King Bifalt saw at least fifty. A moment later, fifty became a hundred. Then they were too many to estimate.

Lifting his face to the sky, Elgart yelled, “Allies! I have brought allies!”

Another cloud slid over the ridge. As it left, Bifalt realized that the riders were familiar.