Treason Keep

camp. The Hythrun was looking rather shamefaced with all of the things that had gone wrong in the past few days, this was one complication they could have done without.

“You heard me.”

“Founders, Damin, she’s the wife of the Karien Crown Prince!”

“I’m aware of that.”

“I thought you couldn’t stand her?”

“I can’t. Look, it’s... complicated. It’s hard to explain.”

“Well you’d better think of something,” Tarja warned. “I imagine Jenga’s going to want a fairly detailed explanation when she complains that you raped her.”

“I never raped her!” Damin declared, offended by the very suggestion. “Her Serene Highness was a very willing participant, I can assure you.”

Tarja shook his head doubtfully. “Even so, when she’s had time to think about it, she might change her mind. Just because you didn’t throw her on the ground and tear her clothes off, doesn’t mean she won’t claim you did.”

“Perhaps I should get in first,” Damin suggested with a grin. “She was the one tearing at my clothes, after all.”

“Be serious!”

The Warlord sighed and reined his stallion in. He studied the snow dotted plain for a moment before turning to Tarja. Their breath frosted in the early morning light. The sun had risen over the rim of the Jagged Mountains, but the day was overcast, threatening more snow.

“Is Jenga planning to surrender?”

Tarja shrugged. “I wish I knew. He’s torn between duty and reason at present.”

“I have to leave, Tarja.”

“I expected as much,” he agreed without rancour. “It’s the Defenders who are being ordered to surrender, not the Hythrun.”

“I’d have to go in any case,” Damin told him. “Hablet’s planning to invade Hythria. I need to be in Krakandar.”

“Adrina told you that?”

He nodded. “She confirmed it, but I’ve suspected that was his ultimate goal ever since I first heard of the Karien-Fardohnyan Treaty. If the Defenders surrender to Karien, there’ll be nothing stopping him.”

“Did Adrina tell you this before or after she tore your clothes off?”

Damin looked at him and smiled sourly. “I deserved that, I suppose. But I’m the Hythrun Heir, Tarja. I can’t sit here minding your border while the Fardohnyans pour over mine.”

“I understand, and so will Jenga.”

“I didn’t doubt that, Tarja, but are you going to be so understanding when I tell you Adrina is coming with me?”

In light of the Warlord’s recent admission, the news did not surprise him. However, that didn’t make it any more palatable.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Damin. If we surrender to Karien, the first thing they’ll do is demand her return. And if we don’t surrender, she’ll make a very useful hostage.”

“I won’t allow you to return her to Karien, Tarja.”

“You slept with her once, Damin. I hardly think that warrants throwing her over your saddle and riding off into the sunset with her.”

Damin grinned. “Poetic as it may seem, Tarja, my reasons are far more pragmatic. Should Adrina and Cratyn have a child, it would have a claim on both the Karien and Fardohnyan thrones. I don’t intend to let that happen.”

“As opposed to a child with a claim on both the Fardohnyan and Hythrun thrones,” he pointed out. “Or had that minor detail escaped you?”

Damin looked so surprised that Tarja realised that he probably hadn’t considered that possibility.

“It’s not the same thing.”

“It’s exactly the same thing, Damin. A child who can unite Karien and Fardohnya is a threat, I’ll grant you that, but a child who could bring Hythria and Fardohnya together is even worse. The Kariens will hunt you down like a criminal. I can’t even begin to guess what the other Hythrun Warlords will do when they discover you’ve run off with Hablet’s daughter.”

“I’m not running off with her,” he objected. “I’m averting a potential catastrophe.”

“You’re creating a potential catastrophe. Founders, man, think about this! How do you think the Kariens are going to react when they find out? Taking a lover might not be cause for concern in Hythria or Medalon, or even Fardohnya, for that matter, but it’s a sin in Karien and they take their sin very seriously.”

“I’m not her lover!”

“If you didn’t take her by force, then what else do you call it? I’m sure the Kariens will see it that way. They tend to be very black and white in their thinking.”

“All the more reason not to send her back to Karien. She’d be stoned if they found out.”

“A few weeks ago, that prospect wouldn’t have bothered you one whit.”

Damin didn’t look pleased at the reminder. “All right, I’ll concede that my opinion of her has... softened... somewhat.”

“Softened? That’s one way of putting it, I suppose.”

“I won’t send her back, Tarja. Even if what you say is true, the fact is we know the Overlord wants a Karien heir to the Fardohnyan throne. The rest of it is just speculation. I’ll deal with the known threat and face the rest of it if and when it happens.”

“Jenga’s not going to like this.”

“I wasn’t planning to ask his permission. I’m an ally, not a subordinate.”

“Have you told Adrina?”

“Not yet.”

“What if she objects? She might prefer to go back.”

“She’d kill herself before she agreed to return to Karien.”

“She doesn’t strike me as the suicidal type.”

“Ask her about Cratyn sometime.”

Tarja reached forward to pat Shadow’s neck. The mare was restless, no doubt picking up his apprehension. “When are you planning to leave?”

“The sooner the better. Jenga will have to act on that order soon, one way or the other. If he surrenders, this plain will be crawling with Kariens any day, and if he refuses the order you’ll be fighting Karien on one side and your own people on the other. I don’t want to get caught in the middle of it. Besides,” he added with a frown, “when we crossed into Medalon we had Brak’s help. We’re going to have to make our way home by more ordinary means. If I don’t leave now, Hablet will be in Krakandar before me.”

At the mention of Brak, Tarja’s brow furrowed with concern. Brak was supposed to be looking after R’shiel. But the Sisterhood had betrayed them. R’shiel would never have let that happen willingly.

“If you’re so damned worried about R’shiel, do something about it,” Damin said, guessing the direction of his thoughts.

“That would mean deserting my post.”

“Well, you’ve done that before,” the Warlord pointed out rather tactlessly, “so it should be easier the next time round. Anyway, if Jenga surrenders, how long do you think your head is going to stay attached to your neck, my friend? You’re responsible for the death of the Karien Envoy, remember? I’ll bet you any sum you care to name that your head on a platter was a condition of the surrender.”

“That doesn’t give me the right to abandon Jenga at the first sign of trouble.”

“Think of it as saving the world, Tarja. The demon child is the only one who can destroy Xaphista. There’s something of a moral imperative involved in going to her rescue.”

“She might already be dead.”

It pained him to admit it. With Brak watching over her and with the power she commanded, she could