an alliance with their ancient enemy. But Oskan gave the impression he was off on some holiday jaunt.
“Why are you so happy?” Thirrin asked accusingly. “Everybody else is terrified by this war, but you look like a kitten with cream.”
“I am happy,” he said, grinning at her hugely, “because there’s no fighting at the moment. The sun’s sparkling on the snow and the sky’s as blue as a kingfisher’s wing.”
“And you think your attitude’s appropriate? People have died and many more will be killed before the fighting’s finished, and yet you smile as though your mouth’s got an ambition to reach your ears!”
“And exactly how does a miserable face help the war effort?” he asked sharply, his mood beginning to change. “Will a frown bring back the dead or fortify a town? If I allow myself to laugh in the face of misery, I rest my mind from the stress of it all, and then it’ll work the better for you and your war. And if I’m really to be one of your advisers, Your Majesty, accept this piece of advice: Take happiness where and when you find it, because there’s going to be precious little of it in the next few months!”
Thirrin reined to a halt angrily and glared at him. “I don’t like your tone, Mr. Royal Adviser! Perhaps my father was wrong and you’d be happier in some other role.”
“Perhaps! Perhaps! You really have no idea how people feel, do you?” Oskan said sharply, his anger oddly disproportionate to the situation. “I’ve never wanted the job of being the voice of reason to Her Majesty of the Royal Cloth Ears. Do you really imagine that ominous warnings about losing my position are some sort of threat? There’s nothing I’d like better than to go back to my cave and live as I want.”
“Ha! And how would you be able to live in your cave with troops of the Empire stomping all over the Great Forest?”
“I can assure you that in the woodlands I’m seen only when I want to be. Why does Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm-Make-Enough-Noise-to-Wake-the-Dead think she never saw me until this year, when I’ve watched her ever since she first ventured into the trees on a lead rein?”
Thirrin could have screamed, she was so angry, but she steadied her voice to an icy hiss. “Then perhaps Oskan Witch’s Son would be happier using his superior woodcraft by working as a scout for the fyrd! Once he’s completed his basic training, of course.”
“And exactly which of your regiments of iron-plated country bumpkins do you fondly imagine has the ability to hold me?” he asked, smiling viciously. Thirrin was suddenly aware of how catlike and fierce his features could be when he was angry. “Healers make the most dreadful enemies, Scion of the House of Strong-in-the-Arm. The Knowledge that saves lives can be used to do exactly the opposite. Especially when they have the blood of the Wise Ones in their veins.”
Thirrin looked at him for a moment and was amazed at the transformation. His eyes were wide and wild, his lips were drawn back from his vividly white and oddly sharp teeth, and she truly believed that if she touched him, his skin would crackle with rage. And there was something else. There was an aura of power about him that was almost tangible. It seemed to thicken the air around him, rippling it like a heat haze, but retreating when the eye tried to pin it down.
He really would make the most terrible enemy, and though she was livid and would have liked nothing better at that heated moment than to draw her sword and force him to beg her forgiveness, an insistent note of caution chimed in her brain: You need him, the country needs him. Don’t drive him along dark paths because of your pride. You are Queen now, you can’t allow personal anger to endanger the land.
Somehow she knew that this was a pivotal moment. Where it had come from and how, she couldn’t tell. But she knew if she lost Oskan now, something Dark would gain by it.
She breathed deeply, battling with her emotions, and slowly winning. When she looked at him again, his eyes were oddly unfocused, but they still blazed with an anger she’d unwittingly called forth. It was up to her to break the mood and win him back.
She leaned forward in her saddle and looked closely at him. “Oskan Witch’s Son. Don’t leave us. We need you. Would