She put her hands on her hips, standing tall, looming over them in her fine-cut robes. ‘At an agreed time, I will land a significant force in the south-west of your kingdom, and I will seed chaos. We will set the coast aflame. Your brother will be forced to send aid, and we will fall upon it, as long as we are able. Should matters turn against us …’ She made a face. ‘… we shall depart in earnest.’

Tarfel swallowed again. ‘You’ll … pillage?’

Ruumi’s smile flashed back, beaming and brilliant. ‘We like to play to our strengths.’

Chel cleared his throat, trying to manage speech. The hot water had made him light-headed. ‘Surely … This seems, uh, disproportionately … bad. What about … isn’t there another way you can help?’

She gazed straight at him, through him. ‘None I am willing to countenance.’

‘I will ponder it,’ Tarfel said, his head dropped a span as if weighed. ‘This is your price?’

This time the mirth was gone from her smile. ‘It is half. As to the other … You expressed curiosity as to my station here. Thanks to your interventions and the failure of Brecki’s war-band, my situation is less sure than it should have been. You will remedy this.’

Rennic leaned forward. ‘Would this involve your conversion from nearly-queen to actual queen?’

‘My half-brother has made himself an issue. As outsiders, you are … uniquely placed to resolve matters.’

Tarfel looked affronted, nostrils flared. ‘You want us to kill your brother?’

‘Half-brother. You must admit, it seems only fair, given your own request. He need not die, but he must be removed from contention. I will leave it to your sell-swords to determine how.’

‘Surely … there must be something else?’

Ruumi’s eyebrow arched, and she folded her arms.

‘Give me your wizard.’

Despite the warmth, Chel shuddered at the thought of Kosh and her alchemy in the hands of the Horvaun.

‘Something else,’ protested Tarfel.

‘Pledge your troth to me, unite our causes and ride at the head of my war-bands as we exterminate first my brother, then yours, then overwhelm the continent with the fruit of our union.’

Tarfel’s mouth hung open.

‘You may decide which option you prefer,’ she said, the mirth creeping back into her smile.

‘I …’ Tarfel said. ‘I need to ponder this a little longer.’

Ruumi’s smile broadened. ‘I do not believe that you do.’

‘You all seem to be forgetting something,’ Rennic said, lying back against the pool’s edge with his hands folded behind his head, adopting the Posture of Unhurried Negotiation. ‘To wit, we are a commercial enterprise, and there are formalities involved in the engagement of our services. We’ll need explicit terms, and a contract drawn up. Then there’s the matter of expenses—’