Sasha

talking about marriage, and at first I thought 'they must be speaking of Alythia,' since she's the one getting married… but then they made reference to this girl being the youngest, and they said how immature she is, and how stupid, and how absolutely foul it would be for the heir of the Larosan king to marry her…'

Sasha stared in dawning horror, as it all, suddenly, made sense. 'Oh no,' was all she could say.

Sofy saw her expression, and the control crumpled once more. 'Koenyg wants me to marry a bloody-handed tyrant, Sasha,' she burst out all at once, 'and Father must have agreed to it, and I'm still only eighteen, and I'm so scared because I don't want to go!'

She sobbed uncontrollably, her head bowed against the bars. Sasha tried to hold her with her hands through the bars, but it was impossible. She felt utterly, desolately cold. She had killed Lenays upon the fields before Baen- Tar and found little regret for it. Now, she felt entirely certain that if one of them had been her brother Koenyg, her regret would have been even less. Damn him to the deepest and hottest of his precious Verenthane hells. For the next time they met upon the field of battle with blades drawn, surely only one of them would walk away alive.

She awoke with a start, lying on the hard boards, and stared at the light that danced across the stone ceiling. The dream had been of Krystoff. She'd fallen off her pony. He'd been laughing at her. She'd tried to climb back on, but the pony had somehow become Peg and was far too tall for her little legs to reach the stirrup. Krystoff had galloped off, and somehow she'd managed to get up and gallop after him. And had found herself in a broad, wide valley with steep sides, cultivated lands and a wide, beautiful river that gleamed beneath the light of a full, silver moon.

From further up the hall, there came a scuffing, echoing noise. Then a clank of keys and muttering voices. Sasha sat up quickly, feet to the floor. The keys rattled some more, then the squeal of the gate opening. Several pairs of feet approached. She had no idea what time of night it was, or even if it was still night. But there would only be more than one guard if she were being moved from her cell.

Three men appeared, and none of them looked like guards. The leader held a flickering lamp which failed to illuminate his face beneath the shadowing hood. He handed the lamp to his companion and fumbled with a ring of keys, as his two companions took wary stances on either side. They appeared to be armed beneath their cloaks, and looked to be expecting trouble.

Sasha got to her feet in alarm, feeling naked without her weapons. A vigilante group come to murder her? Northerners seeking revenge? But how would they get through the guards without her having heard the sounds of battle?

'Who are you?' she asked, thinking furiously.

The leader, to her further surprise, appeared to be struggling to find the right key. He tried one, then another, muttering to himself when they did not fit. As his head bowed, some long hair spilled from within the hood. Not a northerner, then. 'Patience, Princess, patience,' he said, evidently through gritted teeth. The voice seemed familiar.

Finally, a key fit, and turned with a squeal of rusted mechanism. He took the lamp back from his companion, pushed the prison gate inward and threw back his hood. Long, partly braided red hair fell clear in the light, and familiar, roughened features… and Sasha blinked.

'Teriyan?' she exclaimed. Her old friend grinned, appearing to find her astonishment amusing. 'What the hells are you up to?'

'Insurrection,' he said shortly, and stood aside. 'Come, let's go.' Sasha stood frozen where she was. 'Come on!' Teriyan said impatiently. 'I'll explain on the way, there's no time to waste gawking.'

Sasha went, having little other choice, and Teriyan placed a hand on her back and ushered her up the hall. The other two men followed. 'What's going on?' Sasha demanded, keeping her voice tow as they passed empty cell after cold, empty cell.

'Goeren-yai in these parts are having a little disagreement with your father,' Teriyan said, in a similarly low voice. 'It's all organised, nothing for you to worry about.'

Somehow, Sasha did not find that reassuring in the slightest. 'What kind of disagreement?' she retorted. 'Organised by whom?' They climbed several steps and stepped through the open metal gate. Teriyan paused to lock it again behind them. The lamp threw wavering light up the length of the dank, gloomy hallway ahead, and revealed it deserted.

'A few friends,' Teriyan said vaguely.

'How did you get past the guards?' Sasha demanded, growing angry at the lack of information. She rounded to face him as they strode, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her onward. 'What are you up to?'

'Don't the serrin say patience is a virtue?' Teriyan retorted. 'Why don't you show a little and shut up for a moment?'

'Great,' Sasha exclaimed beneath her breath. 'The next time you say that you'll explain on the way, don't wonder why I won't believe you.'

They climbed a longer flight of stone steps and emerged into a guardroom holding another six cloaked figures. Seated on the floor in one corner, tied and gagged, were four prison guards. Not very many, it occurred to her. One of the cloaked figures approached to hand her her weapons.

'Andreyis?' she recognised, as there was more light to penetrate the shadows here. The young man looked extremely apprehensive. Sasha took her blade, secure in its scabbard, and shrugged off her cloak to begin fastening it to the bandoleer at her back. 'What's going on?'

Andreyis looked to Teriyan and back in confusion. 'He didn't tell you?'

'No damn time, I tell you,' Teriyan growled. He, and all the men, seemed to be expecting discovery at any moment. 'She'll just want to argue, let's move fast and argue later.'

'I'll stand here and argue about what you're not telling me!' Sasha exclaimed, finishing with her scabbard and bending to strap the knife to her ankle. 'I'm not going anywhere until I know what kind of hare-brained scheme you've gone and hatched without my…

'There,' Teriyan said to Andreyis in exasperation, 'I told you, didn't l?'

'We're riding to the Udalyn!' Andreyis said breathlessly. 'We're riding to save them from the Hadryn!'

Sasha stared at him, aghast. 'Just like that?'

'No, not just like that!' Teriyan said sharply. 'You think we're stupid? It's been planned, girl! The only thing we didn't count on was you being stupid enough to get caught in Koenyg's damn charge…'

'Planned? What's been planned? How many men?'

'Lots,' Teriyan said grimly.

Sasha stared, her head spinning. How could this have happened without her knowledge? How could Teriyan be involved? He was a leather worker and town senior in Baerlyn, what in the world would he have to do with some Goeren-yai plot to rescue the Udalyn?

She looked at Andreyis. He nodded, anxiously. 'Lots of men, Sasha,' he confirmed. 'The Falcon Guard, for starters. They said if we got Master Jaryd out, they'd come.'

There was a flickering light emerging from another passageway, and then three men appeared, two Goeren- yai flanking a limping wreck that had once been a handsome lordling. Jaryd had no sling for his arm, the left forearm bound only with dirty bandages enfolding a pair of short splints. His torn pants revealed bloody bandages about his left thigh. His face was mottled with bruising, one eye entirely closed, his lips swollen and covered with dried blood and grime. His hair was a mess and there was a bloody sword in his hand.

Teriyan stared at the sword, then at Jaryd's two rescuers. 'What the hells happened?' he said sharply.

The rescuers looked uncomfortable. 'There were two Tyree lordlings posted guard. We overpowered them. We… he asked for a sword, we didn't think he'd just…'

'Oh great,' Teriyan said in exasperation. 'So what was a great and righteous rescue is now the murder of innocent Tyree lordlings! That'll help. Both of them?'

'Just one,' Jaryd rasped. Sasha did not recognise the voice. His good eye was cold, emotionless. 'Mykel Mellat. I told him I'd kill him. He didn't believe me. He thought it was funny. Isn't laughing now, is he?'

'Now look, Master Verenthane,' Teriyan growled, 'I only agreed to drag you out of this place because your guardsmen demanded it and we need 'em. You're going to put that damn sword away and shut your damn mouth, and…'

Jaryd raised his blade at Teriyan, an awkward, one-armed, one-legged stance. 'I'm not taking orders from you. Understand?'

Teriyan snorted, not even bothering to draw his own blade. 'What are you going to do, hop after me?'