“Good luck,” was all he said as his oldest and most loyal follower rode toward the mountains on his sturdy pony. Dram didn’t look back.
The Palanthian Legion led the way back to that glorious city. Jaymes Markham, accompanied by his Freemen, rode in the wake of the legion, marking slow progress as they escorted the wagon in which Coryn was resting and recovering. It took three weeks for the force to make its way across the plains, over the High Clerist’s Pass, and down into the city.
They approached the high walls at a steady march and despite the great victory on the field, not in a triumphal procession. The troops were met at the gate by a great crowd, but the people sensed their lord’s somber mood and refrained from cheers and applause. Instead they watched solemnly as, flanked by his two dozen Freemen, Jaymes Markham broke away from the great column of the Palanthian legion, following the enclosed ambulance through the city and up the inclined road leading onto Nobles Hill.
Finally, the white wizard was brought to her own home, and a young priestess of the city-as close a friend of Coryn’s as of the princess-arrived to see to her convalescence.
“The Lady Coryn is resting comfortably now,” reported that priestess, Melissa du Juliette, to Jaymes Markham as he paced in the anteroom of her manor. “The journey was hard on her, but Sir Templar’s magic did its job, keeping her alive. I anticipate she will make a slow but full recovery. Her robe protected her from the worst-and I think she cast some sort of defensive spell at the very last moment, before the blast surrounded her.”
“Thank you,” Jaymes said. “Will you stay her with her?”
“Of course. I presume you are headed to the palace… to call upon your wife? I think she would like to talk to you.”
The question was a pointed one, and the lord marshal flushed. “Of course,” he replied. “I know she will want to see me.”
Melissa du Juliette looked at him coldly. “I said nothing about her wanting to see you. I said she wanted to talk to you.”
With that, she pushed shut the door to Coryn’s bedroom and left Jaymes Markham no choice but to walk away.
“My Lord Marshal, it is a pleasure to see you, to welcome you back to Palanthas!” The Lord Regent Bakkard du Chagne himself bustled through the anteroom of the palace, rushing up to Jaymes and shaking his hand heartily.
“Allow me to add my congratulations to his lordship’s,” added the Clerist Inquisitor Frost, close behind. “These creatures everyone is talking about-so they came and dragged away the elemental king! Simply splendid! The gods favored you on that day, my lord.”
“If there is anything we can do to help, now that the enemy is defeated,” Sir Moorvan of the Kingfishers chimed in. “Please, let us know.”
“Who told you the war was over?” Jaymes asked. “Ankhar and most of his troops got away. They have fallen back into Lemish, but unless we root them out of there, they will most certainly be back. There will be a pause in the fighting; that is all.”
“Then, my Lord Marshal,” said Bakkard du Chagne. “Hadn’t you better get back to the field?”
“Not for a while,” Jaymes replied. “Now, if you will excuse me, I must go to my wife.”
He made his way through the dark halls of the palace and climbed the stairs to the lofty room where the Princess Selinda had moved her chambers, following the wedding. He was out of breath when he got there and somewhat surprised-even a little irritated-she had not yet materialized to greet him.
He went to the chambers and as the master of his own rooms, opened the door without knocking. He found Selinda in the next room, the dining room, but she did not rush ardently into his arms as he expected.
Instead, she regarded him ambiguously across the long table and finally came around somewhat closer but halted a few steps away.
“So the war is won?” she asked. “Can this be true?”
“It is won, at least for a time,” he said. “Ankhar is not slain, but I have the knights pursuing what’s left of his army to see where he goes and what should be done next. It will take another campaign, probably, to expunge them for good.”
“What happened?” Selinda asked.
“Well, we were able to drive them back from Solanthus-”
“Not that… not ‘what happened in the war?’ ” she retorted harshly. She looked at him fiercely, and for the first time he saw the anger and anguish in her eyes. “I mean… with your courtship… me losing my head, like a silly schoolgirl… everything happening just the way you wanted it to-just when you wanted it to happen!”
“I… I…” he began.
“You know I mean-” She drew a deep breath, but her cold stare did not waver. “What treachery, what trick did you play? What did you do to me? ”
