a darkeyes duel Shardbearers. If you hadn’t held me back . . . Bah! I won’t stand for this, Uncle. I won’t. Common soldiers challenging our highest and most important generals? It is madness.”
“What I said was true,” Kaladin whispered.
“Don’t you speak!” Elhokar shouted, stopping and leveling a finger at Kaladin. “You’ve ruined everything! We lost our chance at Sadeas!”
“Adolin made his challenge,” Kaladin said. “Surely Sadeas can’t ignore it.”
“Of course he can’t,” Elhokar shouted. “He’s already responded!”
Kaladin frowned.
“Adolin didn’t get a chance to pin down the duel,” Dalinar said, looking at Kaladin. “As soon as he was free of the arena, Sadeas sent word agreeing to duel Adolin—in one year’s time.”
One year? Kaladin felt a hollowness in his stomach. By the time a year had passed, chances were the duel wouldn’t matter anymore.
“He wiggled out of the noose,” Elhokar said, throwing up his hands. “We needed that moment in the arena to pin him down, to shame him into a fight! You stole that moment, bridgeman.”
Kaladin lowered his head. He’d have stood up to confront them, except for the chains. They were cold around his ankles, locking him to the chair.
He remembered chains like those.
“This is what you get, Uncle,” Elhokar said, “for putting a slave in charge of our guard. Storms! What were you thinking? What was I thinking in allowing you?”
“You saw him fight, Elhokar,” Dalinar said softly. “He is good.”
“It’s not his skill but his discipline that is the problem!” The king folded his arms. “Execution.”
Kaladin looked up sharply.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Dalinar said, stepping up beside Kaladin’s chair.
“It is the punishment for slandering a highlord,” Elhokar said. “It is the law.”
“You can pardon any crime, as king,” Dalinar said. “Don’t tell me you honestly want to see this man hanged after what he did today.”
“Would you stop me?” Elhokar said.
“I wouldn’t stand for it, that’s certain.”
Elhokar crossed the room, stepping right up to Dalinar. For a moment, Kaladin seemed forgotten.
“Am I king?” Elhokar asked.
“Of course you are.”
“You don’t act like it. You’re going to have to decide something, Uncle. I won’t continue letting you rule, making a puppet of me.”
“I’m not—”
“I say the boy is to be executed. What do you say of that?”
“I’d say that in attempting such a thing, you’d make an enemy of me, Elhokar.” Dalinar had grown tense.
Just try to execute me . . . Kaladin thought. Just try.
The two stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Elhokar turned away. “Prison.”
“How long?” Dalinar said.
“Until I say he’s done!” the king said, waving a hand and stalking toward the exit. He stopped there, looking at Dalinar, a challenge in his eyes.
“Very well,” Dalinar said.
The king left.
“Hypocrite,” Kaladin hissed. “He’s the one who insisted you put me in charge of his guard. Now he blames you?”
Dalinar sighed, kneeling down beside Kaladin. “What you did today was a wonder. In protecting my sons, you justified my faith in you before the entire court. Unfortunately, you then threw it away.”
“He asked me for a boon!” Kaladin snapped, raising his manacled hands. “I got one, it seems.”
“He asked Adolin for a boon. You knew what we were about, soldier. You heard the plan in conference with us this morning. You overshadowed it in the name of your own petty vengeance.”
“Amaram—”
“I don’t know where you got this idea about Amaram,” Dalinar said, “but you have to stop. I checked into what you said, after you brought it to my attention the first time. Seventeen witnesses told me that Amaram won his Shardblade only four months ago, long after your ledger says you were made a slave.”
“Lies.”
“Seventeen men,” Dalinar repeated. “Lighteyed and dark, along with the word of a man I’ve known for decades. You’re wrong about him, soldier. You’re just plain wrong.”
“If he is so honorable,” Kaladin whispered, “then why didn’t he fight to save your sons?”
Dalinar hesitated.
“It doesn’t matter,” Kaladin said, looking away. “You’re going to let the king put me in prison.”
“Yes,” Dalinar said, rising. “Elhokar has a temper. Once he cools down, I’ll get you free. For now, it might be best if you had some time to think.”
“They’ll have a tough time forcing me to go to prison,” Kaladin said softly.
“Have you even been listening?” Dalinar suddenly roared.
Kaladin sat back, eyes widening, as Dalinar leaned down, red-faced, taking Kaladin by the shoulders as if to shake him. “Have you not felt what is coming? Have you not seen how this kingdom squabbles? We don’t have time for this! We don’t have time