face, and one eye swollen shut. The other eye flicked from the King to Emily.
‘This man is corrupt and venal,’ the King continued. ‘His entire history has been one of bribery, embezzlement and crime. He does not deserve to sit in comfort while you, my faithful followers, shiver here in the wilds.’ Luthrian IV’s eyes flashed righteous fire.
‘You never seemed to mind, while I was still in your service!’ Mr Northway wheezed, and Griff crouched down beside him and yanked his collar hard to shut him up.
‘This man, moreover, thought himself to be the one to catch me and hand me to the Denlanders,’ the King announced. ‘Did he not come to us, here in these woods, and lay a trap for us, saying that we should storm the governor’s palace to rescue this Warlock, this Scavian, this bait. I cannot doubt but that he had a squad or two of Denlanders waiting for just such an opportunity to cripple the rebellion, for all that he pretended to be contrite and loyal.’
Gritting his teeth, Northway looked up at Emily, one arm wrapped about his ribs, and she stared down at him and did not know what to think. Did he or didn’t he? I’m so deep in lies, I cannot tell now what is real. I cannot judge.
‘And the Crown’s final charge against this man,’ King Luthrian concluded, ‘is a deeply personal one. Do not think, Emily, that I am ignorant of your grievances and the grievances of your family towards this man. Do not think that I do not know your father’s history, a loyal man hounded to his death by this creature’s villainy. Do not think, my Emily, that I do not know this man to be your enemy as much as he is mine.’
‘What?’ Northway choked out, trying to sit up. ‘Why . . . damn Your Royal Majesty, but that was in your reign, and you knew and made no move to stop me!’
Griff kicked him hard in the back and he cried out, any further accusations stifled. Emily watched him shaking in pain, both hands crooked into claws.
‘Emily,’ said the King, ‘of all my subjects you are the most dear to me.’
She looked him in his beautiful eyes, and still she thought, To how many others have you said those words?
"This is my gift to you,’ he explained. ‘You are armed, as befits a soldier. He is yours. Draw your weapon and execute this man, in the name of your King. Your family’s honour shall be avenged, even as I too am avenged. Our causes are one and the same. Come, stand back from the accused, friends. Let her see him. Let her have a clear shot.’
‘You . . . want me to . . .’ The darkness of the woods seemed to wheel about her. The world was unreal, a patch of firelight and the awful, star-pricked darkness of the night sky. ‘To kill him?’
‘He is yours,’ said the King sweetly. ‘Have you not dreamt of this moment, to have this man in your power?’
‘I have, yes,’ she whispered, and took her pistol from her belt, staring down at him. He levered himself onto his elbow and tried to look her in the face, but could not.
What now?
She felt the familiar, comforting weight of the gun. How it had carried her through the Levant and beyond: her father’s gun, which carried the deaths of countless Denlanders, of one lusting master sergeant and of her father in its bloody history. One more notch on its grip, and who was counting anyway?
Can I do this?
Was he not a villain, after all? A villain against her family, against the King, against the people of Chalcaster, probably against the Denlanders as well. He was a man who played all sides for his own benefit, and now it had tripped him. He would have let Scavian die!
What was he doing here? What deal had he really been trying to broker?
She checked that the pistol was still loaded, the powder dry, the ball and wadding in place, but it had so seldom failed her before, and it was primed and ready, faithful as always.
Can I? Can’t I?
And would the death of Cristan Northway solve anything? Really, anything? It would not save Scavian. It would not save Chalcaster. Doctor Lam’s grim future reared as she levelled the pistol: women and children taken to the death camps; whole villages levelled just to catch one rebel. The more they were opposed, the more