Arasgon pranced back to the center, facing the box where the baron sat. Captain Dedreugh lounged in a chair a short distance from the box, enjoying a drink. He lingered there in case someone foolishly tried for a match.

As the baron raised his arm and leaned forward to give some command or judgment, a shout rang out in the distance. Several people began to point.

Qown looked around to spot the cause. Surprised and dismayed cries rang out from the crowd.

Finally, the priest realized people were pointing back at the castle, toward the thick black smoke snaking up from inside the walls.

Something inside Mereina Castle was burning.

Dorna and Brother Qown shared a look.

“You don’t think…?” Dorna worried at her lower lip.

“Ninavis,” he said.

Brother Qown didn’t know what could’ve happened, but he’d splinted and cast her leg. How much harm could she do …

No. It was she. Possibly she and Kalazan, but he knew in his bones she’d done something.

Baron Tamin ordered his soldiers back to the castle, his wild gesticulations communicating his anger as clearly as if Brother Qown stood right next to him.

It might have been the priest’s imagination, but he thought he heard the name Kalazan floating by on the breeze.

Tamin didn’t himself leave. Instead, the baron returned to his seat, casting angry scowls back to the fortress.

While the baron dealt with his new problem, Count Janel drew her sword and pointed it at Dedreugh. Arasgon screamed out something to call attention to the challenge.

Dorna whistled. “Oh, I wondered how she was going to do this without fighting her way through a dozen knights. This works much better.”

Baron Tamin walked to the edge of the box. Although Brother Qown couldn’t hear his words, his consternation and confusion were evident. Tamin must have realized this wasn’t his Black Knight, wasn’t Sir Baramon. He likely recognized the fireblood too—in which case, he had to realize Janel’s identity.

The crowd surged, wild and shouting. The tournament had turned into something unexpected; it excited their fancy. Tamin raised his hand until they subsided. He motioned for the Black Knight to leave the field.

Arasgon shifted his weight and strutted. Count Janel again pointed her sword at Dedreugh.

Brother Qown saw the baron bend down and listen to something the warden’s nurse had to say, saw him shake his head in refusal. The baron motioned for the soldiers who hadn’t left for the castle to remove the Black Knight from the field. As he did, the crowd in the stands began to stomp their feet and shout.

Black Knight! Black Knight! Black Knight!

The crowd came alive, chanting the title in unison.

Brother Qown realized he hadn’t actually understood what role the Black Knight played in these tournaments—in Joratese society.