‘I don’t care how old you are,’ she said defiantly. ‘You’re mine, Sparhawk, and I’ll never let you go.’ Her voice was so filled with steel that he almost shrank from her.

‘I was sort of obliged to point it out,’ he backstepped. He had to ease her past that dreadful moment of injury. ‘Duty, you understand.’

She stuck her tongue out at that. ‘All right, now that you’ve made your genuflection in duty’s direction, we won’t ever mention it again. When do you think we should have the wedding – before or after you and Vanion go to Chyrellos and kill Annias? I’m rather in favour of getting right on with it, personally. I’ve heard all sorts of things about what goes on between a husband and wife when they’re alone, and I’m really very, very curious.’

Sparhawk turned bright red at that.

Chapter 5

‘Is she asleep?’ Vanion asked when Sparhawk emerged from Ehlana’s bedroom.

Sparhawk nodded. ‘Did Lycheas tell you anything useful?’ he asked.

‘A number of things – mostly verification of things we’ve already guessed,’ Vanion replied. The Preceptor’s face was troubled, and the strain of bearing the swords of the fallen knights still showed on him, although he looked more vigorous now. ‘My Lord of Lenda,’ he said, ‘is the queen’s apartment here secure? I’d rather not have some of the things Lycheas told us becoming general knowledge.’

‘The rooms are quite secure, My Lord,’ Lenda assured him, ‘and the presence of your knights in the corridors will probably discourage anyone who’s afflicted with a burning curiosity.’

Kalten and Ulath entered, and they both had vicious grins on their faces. ‘Lycheas is having a very bad day,’ Kalten smirked. ‘Ulath and I were recalling a number of lurid executions we’d seen in the past while we were escorting him back to his cell. He found the notion of being burned at the stake particularly distressing.’

‘And he almost fainted when we raised the possibility of racking him to death,’ Ulath chuckled. ‘Oh, by the way, we stopped by the palace gate on our way back here. The church soldiers we captured are repairing it.’ The towering Genidian Knight set his axe in the corner. ‘Some of your Pandions have been out in the streets, Lord Vanion. It seems that quite a number of the citizens of Cimmura have dropped out of sight.’

Vanion gave him a puzzled look.