He has to, she thought, for all our sakes.

‘Alright then,’ Varg said, ‘I’ll wait here for you so long as you promise me that whatever happens, you’ll come out and see me one more time.’

If her lord was angry, there would be no room for final requests, but she couldn’t tell Varg that. He won’t understand. ‘You have my word.’

‘Right. Good. That’s something. Be careful.’

‘I will.’

‘I mean, pick your time. Make sure he’s in a good mood. I always forget that when I’m asking Pari for stuff but you’re more patient than me.’

‘Lord Rochant trained me himself. I know how best to approach him.’

‘Right.’ He pulled her close again. ‘Sorry. I don’t want to let you go.’

‘But you must. I should be in mourning, not –’ she paused as Varg blushed again ‘– celebrating. I’ve already lingered too long. If word gets back it would count against me.’

Very slowly, she removed his hands and gave Glider a last fuss before stepping away. It was hard to turn her back on them, harder still to walk away. Lord Rochant’s wisdom will guide me on the right path. Please let him have returned in his full glory. I would rather face his righteous anger than High Lord Yadavendra’s mercy.

Glider’s howls followed her all the way into the keep.

Vasin let the energies of the Godroad carry him. Lady Pari had offered to squeeze him into their carriage but he’d refused. While it was tempting to catch up with Lord Arkav Tanzanite, and solidify their strategy, the idea of sitting still was impossible. They were on their way to face Yadavendra and remove him from power. It had always been the plan, but for so long it had been a distant necessity, below the horizon. Easy to ignore. Now it was here, right in front of him, and he was terrified. And when Vasin got like this, he had to act, to spend the fear in movement, or it would coil up inside like a burrowing Wormkin, and devour his convictions.

Lord Rochant could not have got loose at a worse time. If he managed to escape the forest – which seemed likely given that he’d allied himself with the Wild – then Yadavendra would have his closest ally back. Vasin fancied that he could stand up to his High Lord, but Rochant had a way of twisting things. A few words from him and Vasin would become the enemy. It would be far better to wait if that was the case, but Lady Pari had made it clear that the Tanzanite would not wait. And the Rubies were already out of time.