‘Indeed, a ruler should care for her people. What is a ruler, after all, but a custodian? Am I not the Keeper of my people, their lands and possessions?’

Tarfel paused, trying to judge the question’s rhetoricity. ‘You are,’ he said at length.

‘But you must not fear war, highness. War is the cleansing fire, scouring the dead wood, leaving the ground clear for fresh growth. It is a judgement on the righteous, on the worth of a kingdom, a people, a ruler.’

‘I’m not sure I—’

‘Highness, if you cannot win a war, then what can you offer your people?’

‘Isn’t there more to—’

‘Your father, Gods rest him, as example. His father, Gods rest him, had won the wars in the south, made himself king, but it was your father who made the lands his own. He saw what he wanted, what he needed, and what the kingdom needed with it. And he took it. He was not afraid of war.’

‘Exalted, what do you mean? What did he and the kingdom need?’

She paused to take a small sip of rosewater, and Chel noticed the slightest tremble in her hand. ‘Heirs, highness. Without succession, a ruler is … precarious. The people deserve clarity, expectation. Uncertainty breeds …’ She paused again. ‘Bad thinking.’

Tarfel said nothing, waiting for her to continue. The plum juice was a sticky glaze on his hand.

‘Your father ruled, but without successors, or prospects, even to his middle years. When the gods showed him his chance, he took it. He did what was necessary.’

‘Are you talking about …?’

‘Your mother, yes. She was already married to another, a lord of the eastern province, but when he saw her, he knew she was the answer. She was of Horvaun blood, like him – how else would you and your brother be such pale and golden lions? – and of fertile age. Your father and Vassad made a pact, and a day later the lord of the east was denounced as a heretic, his lands and titles forfeit. When he resisted, he was put down. Your father had no fear of war, and the kingdom was stronger for his actions.’

Tarfel was staring at the old woman, fibrous plum stone held immobile in one hand. ‘How do you know all this? Exalted.’

Her eyes were dark pools in the shade of the gallery. ‘Because I witnessed it. Arowan was party to the pact, if only as a neutral observer. We would not intervene, but would defend our lands with tenacity. That pact has held to this day, although it seems your brother has forgotten it.’

A skivvy signalled something from the gantry, and the old woman fussed herself to her feet, waving away the offers of assistance. Tarfel stared at the hollow cushions where she’d been sitting.

‘Wait, Exalted, wait. My mother,’ he said, voice tight, ‘was she content in her marriage? To the eastern lord? Was she happy to marry my father instead?’