Zune was very tense, white-lipped and anxious. I offered him a cup of wine, but he ignored the offer, and said bitterly, “I did not think that you would stoop so low, harsha, to buy support from trained soldiers. And Lord Amasai – what have you offered him? A high-ranking house in Kasimarra, and enough wealth to last a hundred lifetimes? From what the Firelord told me, I thought you had integrity. But you have no more honour than a spoiled woman with too much stolen wealth at her disposal. You have abused your position here, temporary though it is. You have deceived us all, harsha.”

“You think this battle is unfair now?” I asked, looking surprised. “You think I have unfair advantage?”

He swore, and came close to me, and shook his fist in my face. “I swear, whoever wins, you’ll die. One hundred supporters, I said. One hundred friends. Advocates. So you bribe an army commander. I thought, until today, that Lord Amasai was honourable.”

“He is,” I said. “He is also my friend. I have paid him nothing. If he and his men fight for me, it is because they believe in my cause. So don’t talk to me of unfairness, or lack of honour. If destiny favours me in this, then your argument is with God, not me.”

He looked at me for a long time, his face sceptical at first, then hard and desperate.

“If you want to,” I said peaceably, “we can settle this without fighting. Let us do our best to work together, for the sake of him whom we both loved, who called us both in different ways. I want no bloodshed. I want only a better life for the Quelled. Swear that you will change the laws, and I will walk out of here and let you be Firelord.”

“You will never be Firelord,” he said, his voice low and scathing. “The people will never permit it. Not a female, and a Quelled. You will be destroyed without mercy.”

“Not if I am the only person in the world with divining power,” I said.

“By this time tomorrow,” he said, “one of us will not exist.” He gave me that grim and bitter smile again, and left.

22 The Battle

22

The Battle

THE BATTLEGROUND was a wide plateau east of Kasimarra, swept smooth by gales, and bare of grass. It was an ancient battle site, sometimes used for jousting tournaments, archery competitions and mock battles. It was a barren place, grim and desolate. To one side was a low ridge. It was there that all the citizens of Kasimarra gathered to watch. The battle was to start at noon.