calculation in his eyes. This was a display for his men. A cold dread replaced the general unease in the pit of her stomach. This just got worse and worse.
“Princess Sashandra!” he announced, in a loud, ponderous tone. That bass voice would surely carry to the nearest positions atop the nearby walls. “I had doubted, but today we have seen for our own eyes. The Synnich is your guide. You are the one who has been chosen. Forgive my short-sightedness.”
“I do not claim the guidance,” Sasha said softly. “I have not been chosen for anything.”
“I concede to the authority of the Synnich!” Krayliss announced, ignoring her statement entirely. “I shall leave this place and ride to Baen-Tar where I shall await the judgment of the king on this dispute! The armies of the king shall remain behind, and see that the Hadryn are escorted from the lands of Taneryn! They state that their quarrel is with me alone, not with Taneryn, and so we shall see them prove it! I shall do all of this on one condition! That the Princess Sashandra Lenayin shall give me her word, the word of one guided by the Synnich itself, that she shall ensure all fairness and impartiality upon my trial before the king, and that she shall guarantee that the good people of Taneryn are not made to suffer at anyone's hand! I ask the Princess of Lenayin, does she grant me her word?”
Sasha took a deep breath. The lake beyond the Halleryn walls was serenely beautiful as yellow flushed the eastern sky atop the hills. Above, the looming presence of Mount Halleryn looked down. The chill air smelled sharp and fresh.
“I give my word,” she said with as firm a voice as she could muster. Whatever Krayliss's intentions, she knew that she had no choice. To end it here, to separate the warring sides before the bloodshed could escalate into terrible proportions…surely it was worth her word? What was a simple word against the lives of hundreds? Perhaps thousands?
And yet she knew with dread certainty, as Krayliss grasped her hand in his and placed it to his lips, that that word would cost her. In Lenayin, the price of honour was never slight.
Krayliss regained his feet and turned to Damon and Kessligh. “I shall make preparations to ride immediately. What are your plans?”
“I shall await the arrival of further forces,” Damon announced. “They should arrive shortly. That will free myself and a suitable escort to ride with you back to Baen-Tar. After witnessing your departure, the Hadryn forces have no reason to remain on Taneryn lands. The royal forces will supervise their departure. Master Jaryd and Captain Tyrun of the Falcon Guard shall command that effort.”
“Acceptable,” Krayliss said shortly. “Yuan Kessligh?”
“My uma and I shall attend Rathynal in Baen-Tar,” said Kessligh. “First, we shall return to Baerlyn. I am expecting an important visitor.”
Sasha shot Kessligh a look. It was the first she'd heard of any visitor. She didn't like the sound of that at all.
“I have your uma's word, Yuan Kessligh,” Krayliss rumbled warningly. “I expect her presence at my hearing.”
“And you shall have it, Lord Krayliss,” Kessligh replied. “She shall be at Baen-Tar before the beginning of Rathynal. It shall be understood by all that no hearing should begin before her arrival. On that, you have my word.”
SOFY STRODE QUICKLY down the stone corridor to the king's chambers, her maid Anyse at her side. “Oh, I hope I'm not late,” she worried, brushing hastily at her hair. “Is my hair tangled?”
“It's lovely, Highness,” said Anyse, always diplomatic. “Just…here.” She pulled a brush from an apron pocket and Sofy stood still long enough for her to pull the brush through quickly. It caught several times.
“Oh damn,” Sofy fretted, “it's been doing that a lot lately, hasn't it?”
“Not at all, Highness. You have the loveliest hair in Baen-Tar, but it's no wonder you get tangles when you never slow down.”
“Slow down?” Sofy exclaimed. “Alythia's wedding is less than a month away, Rathynal will be here shortly and every provincial lord and his entourage will be arriving, all demanding entertainments, decorative quarters—and gods forbid anyone should find themselves bored or in disagreement with my program…oh hells, how did I end up with so many responsibilities?”
Anyse fought back a smile. “You volunteered,” she said succinctly.
Sofy gazed at her in despair. “I did, didn't I? Heavens, I'm such a fool.”
“Nonsense, you're simply too kindhearted and intelligent for your own good, that's all.”
Sofy brushed her long