clutches of a baboon. No, you will be my hunting dog, Vaelin Al Sorna. You will go in search of the Jade Princess and return her to me. I sent the best trackers in the Northern Prefecture to find her but they scoured the mountains for days with no result. I suspect you might have better luck. If you happen to find the healer with the Princess, then all to the good. I shall even allow you both to depart my kingdom. That is the use to which I will put you, and I will entertain no pretence of refusal. We both know you have no choice.”
More Janus than Arlyn, Vaelin concluded, jaws aching as he clamped his mouth shut to confine any unwise words. Although, Lyrna would have tangled him in her own web. But I am not her.
“I travelled with several companions,” he said when the ache in his jaw receded.
“Yes, and they currently enjoy my hospitality. Take them with you if you wish. If you like, you can even have that vicious bitch from the Crimson Band. I’m afraid I was obliged to send agents to deal with her father. A certain tolerance of the criminal element is a necessary aspect of governance, but his transgression was too great. Like you, she has been left in no doubt that she now belongs to me.”
The Merchant King Lian Sha gave a barely perceptible bow Vaelin recognised from Erlin’s lessons: the dismissal of a noble but minor functionary. Turning, he beckoned to Sho Tsai. “I’ll send the Red Scouts with you,” he said. “My best troops and their commander have a keen interest in the success of this mission. You see, when my daughter lay near death, it was he whom I sent to fetch the healer. He’s been quite terribly in love with the Healing Grace ever since.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Tsai Lin.” The young soldier bowed low as he introduced himself, Vaelin judging it the deepest bow he had been afforded since arriving in these lands. “Dai Lo to the Red Scouts.”
“Dai Lo?” Vaelin asked. “I do not know this term.”
“Apologies, lord.” The young man’s head dipped an inch lower. “A Dai Lo is . . . an apprentice, you might say, a student awaiting confirmation as an officer in the king’s army.”
“I see.” Vaelin glanced around the courtyard, his gaze tracking over the three dozen soldiers preparing their mounts for the journey. Sho Tsai moved amongst them, checking gear and ensuring the packhorse loads were securely tied. “Tsai,” he said. “You share a name with the commander.”
“I am honoured to be his son, lord.”
“The third egg in the nest, more like,” one of the soldiers said in a low but audible mutter that drew a snicker from the others. Vaelin was impressed by the fact that the young man’s composure didn’t falter, though he discerned from the rigidness of his features as he straightened that some insult had been suffered.
“The commander has appointed me your bodyguard and liaison for the duration of this mission,” Tsai Lin went on.
“Bodyguard?” Vaelin raised an eyebrow, taking guilty satisfaction from the sudden discomfort on the youth’s face.
“A formal term only,” he stammered, bowing again. “All foreign dignitaries are allotted a bodyguard. Naturally, I would never presume . . .”
“My companions,” Vaelin cut in. “I was assured by the Merchant King . . .”
His enquiry was proven unnecessary by a chorus of cursing from the far end of the courtyard. “Get your hands off me, you heathen fuckers!”
Ellese appeared as the Red Scouts made way for a company of blue-armoured soldiers. She struggled in the grip of two guards, hair an unruly tangle and besmirched features set in a snarl. She quieted on catching sight of Vaelin, however, sagging in the guards’ grip until they released her.
“Thought you were dead,” she said with a chagrined smile, coming forward to embrace him. He didn’t return the embrace or allow it to linger. Her training was still incomplete after all. A spasm of hurt passed across her features as he eased her back, but she regained her composure quickly, standing straight and fixing her face into a neutral mask.
Nortah arrived shortly after, quickly followed by Alum and Sehmon, all equally unkempt and unwashed. Erlin came next. The depredations of confinement seemed to have taken the greatest toll on him, moving with a bowed head and slumped shoulders as the soldiers conveyed him to the courtyard. Truly an old man now, Vaelin thought, taking note of the