Elsewhere

down the roads to Cape and Solarii. Trade was growing rapidly now that the war was over.

              “He seems an honorable man…a master horseman,” Gaston answered as they moved off the road and let a large wagon rumble past. The wagon was pulled by six large oxen and was loaded down with goods to sell.

              “Many pardons,” the wagon master said with a slight tip of his hat. Bock smiled and waved at the man, who undoubtedly would have been aghast had he known he’d just forced the High King off the road and into a muddy ditch. Gwaynn, however, thought nothing of it, they needed the trade; Massi needed the trade, and they were all happy to have it even if it meant stepping into a little mud.

              “Someone you can work with?” Gwaynn continued as they moved back on the road and through the open gates. Gaston did not hesitate.

              “I would say,” he answered. “I could learn much from the man and he seems fair, though tough minded.”

              “I think his confidence is shot,” Bock piped in. “And he’ll need to regain it before going back onto the battlefield.”

              Gwaynn nodded. “My thoughts exactly,” he replied then turned to Gaston again. “I’m putting him under your command when we move against Sinis. We’ll see how he performs. If he bounces back…I’ll probably allow him to lead the attack against the King’s Island.” Gwaynn paused, then. “No questions of loyalty?” He asked. Hothgaard had taken an oath of fealty after Gwaynn was crowned High King, still questions lingered, especially if the man was to lead an attack on his former home and Queen.

              Bock deferred to Gaston who knew the Captain of the Temple Knights as well as any of them. For the past three weeks the two groups of cavalry worked and trained together, though not always without tension.

              Gaston shook his head. “As far as I can tell Captain Hothgaard accepts your role as King completely…Mastoc is dead, but before he died he allied himself with the Tars of Sinis which the Captain found insulting and a bit distasteful. I think he can be trusted…it’s the rest of the Knights I’m unsure of.”

              “How so?” Lonogan asked with a frown.

              “I just don’t know them, or how loyal they are to Hothgaard himself, after all, he lead them to their first real defeat in over a thousand years.”

              “It is a worry,” Gwaynn admitted, pausing every so often to acknowledge a greeting from a shop keeper or maid on the street. A group of small children had taken to following them through the roads of lower Manse, laughing and squealing and marching about, but they kept their distance so the three men ignored them. “We may not need their support to conquer the King’s Island, but my gut says it could lead to disaster if we do not take them along, at least symbolically. Their presence will go a long way to legitimizing my rule.”

              Bock smiled. “What else does your gut tell you?”

              Gwaynn grinned as they walked up on a large three story inn. It was familiar, not quite the same, but close. “It tells me I’m very hungry. Let’s join Taylor for an early lunch…if he’s around.”

              “I’d hoped you’d say that,” replied Lonogan, but Gaston begged off. He was overseeing the ever growing herds…nearly three dozen mares were pregnant and would be delivering their foals in the spring.

              Taylor was off on a buying trip…bed sheets and covers, but Carolyn his plump, severe wife greeted Gwaynn as if he was the High King himself…which in fact he was. She led them to a new private dining room behind the bar. Gwaynn allowed this because the constant looks of awe and excitement from the people around him were becoming a bit unnerving.

              They ate and drank in silence for a time, Bock for about ten minutes, Gwaynn for nearly three quarters of an hour, with Carolyn fawning over them the entire time, but when they were finished both felt sated and comfortable.

              “Leave the pitcher Madame Carolyn if you will,” Gwaynn said by way of dismissal and the old woman caught the hint immediately and left without question.

              “Have you given any thought to how you’ll rule Massi?” Gwaynn asked bluntly after the woman had gone. He caught Lonogan in the middle of a sip of beer and he had to fight to keep from spitting it all over his King.

              “You’re joking,” Bock barked and his stomach clenched. This would not do. Ruling Massi was not in his plans.

              “I’m not.”

              “Surely you have a cousin…an uncle…some close family member fit to rule,” Bock demanded, wondering how he was going to decline the offer if Gwaynn continued to push.

              “I do not,” Gwaynn replied, slightly amused by his friend’s attitude. “You’ve fought with me all over Massi. Have I called any of my trusted lieutenants’ cousin, or uncle? I have an elderly aunt living up near Heron…but she’s not able, nor willing.”

              Lonogan frowned and downed his beer in five large gulps. He filled his cup again just as quickly. “But to rule Massi in your stead…” he began.

              “Not in my stead…as King. Of course you will have to change your last name,” Gwaynn added and Lonogan’s heart fell. Kings were not permitted to marry Travelers, or even keep one in country. It was considered too dangerous for the other royal families in the land.

              “But…” Bock began and Gwaynn finally became aware of the unique nature of his friend’s distress. He guessed the cause immediately and smiled briefly.

              “What’s the problem?” Gwaynn asked, pretending ignorance, and was surprised when Lonogan gulped at his beer once again, then stood and began to pace back and forth across the room, his boots knocking out the rhythm of his stride on the wooden floor. Gwaynn took pity on his older friend.

              “Are you afraid Jess will not like the idea of being Queen of Massi?”

              Lonogan stopped in his tracks and turned on the young man sitting calmly before him. “You know?”

              “That you planned to move to Light to be with her when the war was over?”

              Lonogan nodded.

              “No…I guessed.”

              “Did you mean what you said just now, about Jess being the Queen of Massi?

              Gwaynn nodded.

              “But how? It’s forbidden for a Traveler to live permanently off of Light or to marry anyone from a royal family.” Bock gave a little shiver at the mention of royalty. Even as a child he had never dreamed that one day he would have the chance to belong to such an exclusive group.

              “You’re forgetting something,” Gwaynn said with a large smile on his face. “I’m the High King.”

?

              Tar Nacht was in his room, throwing together his personal items and dressing to kill. Word had finally reached the King’s Island of the defeat of the Temple Knights along with vague and disturbing rumors of Prince Gwaynn Massi being crowned High King by the Tars of Noble.

              ‘It’s over!’ Nacht’s mind screamed as he quickly attached two spring knives, one to each forearm. He adeptly adjusted the tension then threw on an oversized black tunic with long billowing sleeves to hide the weapons. He was far from panic, but he knew time was against him. He gambled and lost everything. He strapped four more knives tightly around his calves, then pulled down the cuffs of his silk black pants and slipped on a pair of low boots. He was careful with all the weapons for his blades were always tipped with poison. If he could, he would take along a great deal of company when he finally went to meet the Black Horseman. The new High King was sure to move against Sinis, after all they had been trying frantically to kill him for more than two years, the young man must be aware of the fact.

              Nacht shook his head in disbelief. Sinis had sent a dozen Executioners to Massi plus nearly twice as many highly trained acolytes, and yet the Prince somehow managed to elude the death he so richly deserved.

‘It was uncanny; the work of providence,’ Nacht thought as he placed his kali at his waist.

The door to his room flew open without warning and Queen Audra rushed in.