“They offer peace,” Prince Cratyn announced, throwing the parchment Mikel had delivered onto the long table in the command tent. Smoking torches threw tall shadows on the canvas walls, which made Mikel’s eyes water. The braziers did little to warm the big tent.
“They offer nothing!” Lord Laetho corrected, pointing at the document with scorn. “They ask us to pack up and go home! They offer no compensation! They do not even apologise for murdering Lord Pieter!”
Mikel could not read, but even if he had been able, he had not been given an opportunity to examine the contents of the sealed document he had delivered. He wondered at Lord Laetho’s interpretation of the offer. Sister Mahina had been quite hopeful that a peaceful solution might be reached.
“I would not go quite that far,” Lord Roache corrected. “But you are right, in that it is somewhat arrogant in its tone. The Medalonians appear to think they might prevail.”
The full war council had convened upon hearing of the letter from the Defenders, even though it was the middle of the night. Mikel had spent the day being questioned by Lord Laetho and now stood just inside the flap of the command tent, chewing his bottom lip nervously. In his dreams, when he faced the war council, he had not been nervous, or cold, or afraid. Mikel glanced around, rubbing his eyes and trying not to yawn. The movement caught the eye of the tall Fardohnyan captain who stood opposite him on the other side of the tent, near the Princess Adrina. The man winked at him solemnly. The small gesture gave Mikel a much needed morale boost.
Princess Adrina had obviously dressed in a hurry. Her long dark hair was tied back with a plain blue ribbon and she wore a simple dress of fine grey wool, covered with a warm fur cloak. Mikel watched her, thinking that she was just as pretty as the Lady R’shiel, which was only proper, since she was married to Prince Cratyn. But she did not look at Cratyn the same way Lady R’shiel looked at Tarja. There was no warmth in her eyes at all, except when she addressed the fair-haired Fardohnyan captain. And Prince Cratyn’s gaze did not linger on Adrina, the way Tarja’s lingered on R’shiel.
No, he decided, his prince and princess knew how to behave in public. Nobody would ever come upon
“It is a sign of their weakness,” Earl Drendyn announced, leaning back in his chair. “They have seen the force we have gathered and are afraid!”
“Even the lowest creature can fight savagely when it’s frightened,” Duke Wherland reminded them. His eye- patch looked decidedly ominous in the sputtering light. “I learnt that in the navy.”
“It may be a ruse,” Duke Palen agreed, scratching at his greying beard thoughtfully. “A delaying tactic, perhaps?” He turned in his seat, his gaze falling on Mikel, who gulped nervously. “What say you, boy? Laetho tells me you were there when they decided to make this offer.”
Mikel swallowed again, his mouth suddenly dry.
“The boy knows nothing useful,” Duke Ervin scoffed, pulling on the ends of his waxed moustaches. “I don’t know why you bothered to bring him here.”
“My Lords,” the princess intruded cautiously, her eyes lowered demurely. She was such a perfect lady. “Children, like women, are frequently overlooked in a war camp. You may find he knows more than the Medalonians realise.”
Prince Cratyn looked up sharply as the Princess spoke, but it was Lord Ciril who answered her. “Her Highness shows remarkable insight for a woman. Come forward, boy!”
Mikel stepped forward hastily, although his throat was so dry it felt as if somebody had sandpapered it. “My... My Lord?”
“You were there when they composed this message?” Duke Roache asked.
Mikel shook his head. “No, my Lord. But I heard them discussing it.”
“Well? What did they say, boy?” Duke Ervin demanded impatiently.
“Sister Mahina, she said we could win...”
“There! What did I tell you!” Drendyn laughed. He took a long swig from his wine cup. He looked very pleased with himself. “They know we will defeat them!”
“Shut up, fool!” Palen snorted, before turning his ruddy peasant’s face to Mikel. “Carry on, boy.”
“But she said it would be an expensive victory,” he finished, gaining a little confidence in the face of the elder Duke’s support. “Lord Jenga... he said it might... give you pause. He said an attack in winter... in the mud or the snow... would be hard for armoured knights.”
“Any fool knows that,” Roache muttered.
The Fardohnyan captain said something Mikel could not understand, and the others turned to the princess expectantly. “My captain asks if the child heard what the Hythrun Warlord had to say.”
Eleven heads turned to look at him expectantly. Mikel suddenly remembered all the horrible things Damin Wolfblade had said about the lovely princess and paled. He could not repeat that!
“He said... he said that if you accepted the peace offering he would be very disappointed. He said you have too much at stake to withdraw now.” The princess smiled at him before she translated the answer for her captain and his heart fluttered. This was how a true lady should look and behave. Decorous, elegant and modest. And Damin Wolfblade said she had the heart of a hyena! How dare he!
“The Medalonians don’t appear to be suffering under too many false illusions,” Lord Wherland remarked, “if what the boy says is true.”
“Aye,” Lord Palen agreed, “and they are correct about the snow. It would seriously hamper the knights.”
“Then we need to attack before it snows, gentlemen,” Prince Cratyn announced. Mikel’s heart swelled with pride as he watched the young prince. He was so noble and serious. He did not joke about death or make lewd comments about women. He was renowned for his piety. And he would
“Aye,” Palen agreed. “We’ve sat on our backsides too long. It is time to teach these atheists a lesson. Only a fool would wait until winter to attack. Do you have anything else to tell us, boy?”
Mikel faced a moment of indecision. Should he mention the Harshini? Should he say he had seen a demon? Lots of demons? If he did, would they believe him? Or would they send him to the priests for Absolution Through Pain for lying? Should he tell them that Jaymes would only be released if they agreed to the peace offering? It had all seemed so clear when he was a prisoner among the Defenders. But now, faced with the war council and their stern expressions, his courage deserted him.
“My Lords, the child is exhausted,” Princess Adrina said, saving him from having to answer. “It is the middle of the night and he is almost falling over with fatigue, as am I. Perhaps I could take the child and see him settled for the night while you make your plans? After all, a war council is no place for a lady,” she added, bringing nods of agreement from the men. Mikel thought she was beyond perfect. She was the embodiment of Karien femininity. “Once he’s rested, I am sure he will remember more. In fact, I would be happy to take it upon myself to interview the child, thus freeing my Lords for more important business. It would be my small contribution to your war effort.” The gathered Dukes nodded, as impressed by her words as Mikel was. “Do I have your leave to depart, your Highness?”
Prince Cratyn waved his agreement with a furrowed brow, as if something concerned him, but he was probably just worried about the princess. She should not have been dragged from a warm bed at this hour of the night.
“Then I bid you goodnight, my Lords,” she said, rising gracefully from her seat. “May the Overlord be with you as you make your plans, so that your victory is quick and decisive. Come, child.”
She held out her hand and Mikel took it in wonder. He did not notice the cold as they walked from the tent. He barely even noticed the tall Fardohnyan following them outside. The princess said something in her own language to the captain, who nodded and disappeared into the darkness, then she turned and looked down at him.
“You must be the bravest young man in all of Karien,” she said with obvious admiration. “To have spent all that time in the heart of the enemy and remain so true to your faith. I want to hear about every single moment of the time you spent with those nasty Defenders.”
“I’ll try to remember everything, your Highness,” he promised her. For the Princess Adrina he would walk to
