Hablet packed her off to Karien.”
“And if you don't believe the rumours?”
“Then he married her to Cratyn because Adrina, more than any of his children, is cast in the same mould as her father. If he was up to something nasty and needed an ally in Karien, Adrina would be the one for the job.”
Brak did not offer any further comment on Adrina. He had not told Teriahna the news he carried from Medalon. As far as anyone in Fardohnya knew, Adrina was still in the north. That Cratyn was dead, Adrina now married to Lord Wolfblade and that Hablet's eldest baseborn son was a casualty of the Karien-Medalonian war, was news he would prefer not to break until Adrina was safely across the border into Hythria, where Damin could protect her from her father's wrath.
“So, what do you know to be
“Not much more than anyone else, I'm afraid,” she admitted. “He gave them the Isle of Slarn, we know that for certain, and there's been no shortage of timber for shipbuilding since the Princess left. According to the treaty, he's supposed to attack Medalon from the south come the northern spring, and he's certainly mustering his army for an invasion.”
“But?” Brak asked, sensing there was more she had not told him.
“But he's got his officers studying Hythria, not Medalon.”
“You think he seriously intends to invade Hythria?”
“He's never likely to have a better chance. He can't go over the Sunrise Mountains - Tejay Lionsclaw makes certain of that. The Hythrun defend their ports too well to risk a naval invasion, and until the Kariens declared war on their neighbour, Medalon had the Defenders to deter him from taking that route. But with the Defenders tied up on their northern border, and the Warlord of Krakandar up there with them, Hythria is wide open.”
Brak nodded. Adrina had said almost the same thing.
“Why is Hablet so determined to invade Hythria?” Brak asked. “It can't just be greed. He's richer than any man alive.”
Teriahna seemed amused by the question. “Don't you know? It isn't wealth that drives Hablet, it's fear.”
“Of what?”
“He doesn't have a legitimate heir.”
“That's not a reason to invade Hythria.”
“It is if you're afraid that your next heir is likely to be Hythrun.”
Brak stopped and stared at her, afraid she had already heard about Damin and Adrina, but then he realised that even if she had, Hablet had been planning this invasion long before the two of them met. “How could that be?”
“Hythria and Fardohnya have not always been separate nations, Brak. You should know that.”
“Fardohnya split from Hythria before I was born,” Brak pointed out. “And believe me, I was born a very long time ago.”
“They formally became separate nations during the reign of Greneth the Older Twin,” she reminded him. “That was about twelve hundred years ago.”
Brak nodded. “Greneth was the twin brother of Doranda Wolfblade, as I recall.”
“Ah, you do know your history then. Well, the split was quite amicable by all accounts. Greater Fardohnya, as it was known then, was a huge country; much too vast to govern effectively. Hythria was the largest province, governed by the Wolfblade family. Greneth married his sister Doranda to Jaycon Wolfblade, gave them Hythria to rule as the High Prince and Princess.”
Brak found himself impressed by Teriahna's knowledge, but no closer to the knowledge he sought. “I still don't see...”
“Then let me finish,” she chided. “As part of the agreement to separate the two nations, Greneth signed a pledge that in the absence of a male heir to the Fardohnyan throne, the eldest living Wolfblade would automatically inherit the crown. The agreement has never been revoked.”
“I've never heard of it before.”
“Well, until now, there's been no need to worry about it. Hablet is the first Fardohnyan King in twelve hundred years who's failed to get a son.”
“How many others know about it?”
“Enough that Hablet is worried. When your King keeps producing daughters, people start going through the archives. We only stumbled across it recently ourselves. Like you, we were curious about Hablet's obvious obsession with Hythria.”
“I'm still not certain I understand what he hopes to achieve by invading Hythria.”
“He needs to destroy the Wolfblade line. If there is no living Wolfblade, there is no heir. If there is no heir he can legitimise one of his bastards.”
“Wouldn't it be simpler, not to mention cheaper, to hire one of your assassins?”
“Are you kidding? Do you have any idea what we charge for assassinating a High Prince? Trust me, an invasion, even a prolonged one, would be cheaper.”
Brak smiled, not entirely certain she was joking.
“Anyway,” Teriahna continued, “he tried that, and we refused. Call it professional ethics, but we draw the line at kings and princes. The death of a ruling monarch tends to create unrest and draws unnecessary attention to the Guild and that's bad for business. We are strictly apolitical.”
“What a comforting thought,” he remarked wryly.
She smiled. “I forget you are Harshini, sometimes, my Lord. Does all this talk of killing distress you?”
“Not as much as it should,” he admitted. “So how long has Hablet known about this forgotten law?”
“A long time, I think. He made Lernen Wolfblade an offer for his sister Princess Marla when he first took the throne. You can imagine Lernen's reaction. He refused the offer then married Marla to some rustic Warlord from the north of Hythria, just to add to the insult. Hablet has never forgiven him for that either.”
“So, for the sake of a forgotten law and a thirty-five-year-old insult, Hablet is going to invade Hythria?”
“That's about the strength of it,” she agreed. “If Damin Wolfblade and Narvell Hawksword are killed protecting Hythria, which is a real possibility, and Lernen dies, which is also likely to happen sooner rather than later, according to my sources, there are no more male Wolfblades and Greneth's pledge is void.”
“Marla has other sons.”
“Stepsons,” Teriahna corrected. “She has only two natural-born sons and neither of them has an heir. If they die, the Wolfblade line is at an end.”
“And if her daughters have sons?”
“Then they'd have as much claim as Hablet's daughters, no more. The pledge specifies a Wolfblade male and even Narvell's claim is tenuous, because he took his father's name when he became the Warlord of Elasapine.”
“You seem remarkably well informed on the matter of Hythrun bloodlines.”
“It's my job. Besides, I've been looking into the matter lately. The Guild might be apolitical, but we are hardly politically naive. The machinations of kings and princes affect us closely. We have a vested interest in keeping things stable.”
“Hence your reluctance to assassinate them.”
“I see you understand our position.”
Brak nodded, wondering how much he should tell Teriahna. For that matter, it would not be long before she learnt of it anyway. Once Damin reached Hythria, the news would spread like a grass fire.
They had reached the end of the wharf and took the carved stone steps up to the paved road that circled the harbour. Brak glanced over his shoulder, surprised at the distance they had covered. He had been so engrossed in the conversation he had not noticed.
“Are you hungry? There's a tavern not far from here that serves the best oysters in Fardohnya.”
Brak nodded his agreement distractedly. The Raven led the way a little further up the road to a small tavern with an arched entrance, over which was carved the words “The Pearl of Talabar”. The tavern was cramped, but clean and cool and Teriahna was obviously well known. The owner hurried forward to greet them and showed them to a private booth in the back that gave them a clear view of the rest of the room.
“Now,” she said decisively, once they were seated. “I have answered your questions. I think it's time you answered a few of mine.”
