looked when last she had seen them, at the previous Masters’ Court. Zane was recently married and a little distance away his wife was showing with their first child, talking to the wives of the other two young lords.
Had it only been months ago? she silently wondered. It felt like years since the last gathering.
Waiting to greet the King and Queen at the throne dais was Lord John Worthington, his son Serge at his right hand. Now titled Prime Minister of Roldem, Lord John bowed and waited until the King and Queen were seated. Then, turning to the assembled gathering, he announced, ‘My lords, ladies and gentlemen, I have the great honour of announcing-,’ Franciezka half-expected that he was going to announce the betrothal of his son to Stephane despite her absence, ‘-the cessation of hostilities between the Empire of Great Kesh and the Kingdom of the Isles.’
This was completely unexpected, but welcome news, and the applause that greeted his words was heartfelt as a wave of relief swept through the room. Perhaps, more than one lord thought, things will now begin to return to normal.
The applause grew in volume until suddenly there was cheering and foot stamping. Finally, Lord John held up his hand and a moment later quiet returned.
‘I am pleased to announce that our most gracious King has offered to broker a final treaty between our neighbouring nations, and that within a month Gregory, King of the Isles, and Sezioti, Emperor of Great Kesh, will arrive in Roldem for a supreme conference to bring final peace to the Sea of Kingdoms and beyond.’
This brought applause but no small chatter, for in the history of the Empire of Great Kesh, the Emperor had never left his home above the Overn Deep. And no sitting King of the Isles had ever visited Roldem — princes later to be kings, yes, but never once the crown was set upon his head. This was unprecedented.
Franciezka cursed silently. She had mistaken Lord John’s words to his Kingdom double. He didn’t mean to dispatch the King as a euphemism for killing him, he meant dispatch him to Roldem.
Franciezka Sorboz, Queen’s lady-in-waiting and head of the nation’s intelligence network, glanced over at her deputy, Lord Servan, whose dark features reflected exactly the same thought as her own. What exactly was going on here?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Ty held up his hand.
Instantly the others fell silent. He motioned to Gabriella to move with the Princess into a depression below the road and hide out of sight. To Hal he pointed behind and then held up his hand to his ear, and then again pointed to the rear.
Hal paused, cocking his head to one side, and then he heard it: distant footfalls, slowly coming their way. He motioned back to Ty to take up a position on either side of the game trail they had been following.
For two days they had circled up into the high foothills heading mostly west by north, then straight west, roughly parallel to the King’s Highway, hoping to reach the road close to the city of Ran. They had subsisted on stream water and summer berries found along the way, but otherwise had nothing. They might be young and fit, but hunger was robbing them of strength daily, and Hal and Ty knew they would be less able to fight as time wore on; it was time to make a stand.
Hal motioned again and Ty nodded, understanding he wanted their pursuers to come past them before they attacked. Both young swordsmen hunkered down behind concealing undergrowth.
Soon the sound of footsteps grew louder and four men in the tabards of the Kingdom came into view. Hal didn’t have to look at their boots to know they were counterfeit soldiers, as they were as ragged and unkempt a lot as he had ever seen. Pirates in stolen tabards was his best guess, and they looked ill-humoured and angry. For them to still be on the trail of the fugitives indicated the lesson of those slain on the King’s Road hadn’t been lost on the rest of them. Hal could hear them speaking in a language foreign to him, and guessed they were Ceresians.
They were not being especially quiet, but they were being cautious, and the man in front appeared to have some tracking skills as he pointed to the prints Hal and the others had just made. He knelt for a moment, placed his hand into the depression of a boot heel and pressed with his fingers. He raised them up, rubbing with his thumb and Hal knew exactly what he was doing.
The leader tracker said something as he drew his sword and pointed down the trail to where the ladies lay in hiding. Hal waited until the last of the four was past, then leapt at him from behind, cutting him down as Ty went past to take out the next man.
The fourth man turned to intercept Hal, but the tracker hung back, shouting, ‘They’re here!’ at the top of his lungs. He managed to get three shouts out before he suddenly stiffened and then collapsed, revealing Lady Gabriella standing behind him with a bloodied belt knife.
The two best swordsmen at the previous Masters’ Court finished off the two remaining pirates in quick fashion, but shouting from the distance told them the damage had been done. Ty cast around, determining where the noise was coming from. ‘They’re above us!’
He started down the hillside as fast as trees and brush would allow, assuming, correctly, that the others would follow without question. As they reached a clearing he paused to seek the next path down and said, ‘We got below all of them but that one that stumbled on us. Had we been a little quicker maybe …’ He looked back. ‘We need to strike for the King’s Highway and hope we can outrun them to Ran.’
‘How far?’ asked Gabriella and with a slight incline of her head showed she was asking on behalf of Stephane, not herself.
‘If I’m correct, three, maybe four miles.’
‘We’ll never outrun them,’ said the exhausted Princess. ‘Leave me. You go and get help and come after me.’
Almost simultaneously Hal and Ty cried, ‘No!’
Hal put his arm around her waist, half-lifting her, and started toward the downhill slope.
‘No!’ shouted Ty.
Hal turned to look, and Ty pointed off in another direction. ‘That way.’
Hal took off and Gabriella and Ty followed. Without communication it was understood. Hal would keep going with Stephane no matter what happened, while Ty and the Lady Gabriella would turn and hold off the pursuers as long as possible should they be overtaken.
After a moment, Stephane said crossly, ‘This is impossible!’ She pushed herself away from Hal, shouting, ‘I can run!’ and took off at a staggering run down the game trail.
‘Don’t!’ shouted Ty, but it was too late.
Four staggering steps sent her tumbling and she cried in pain as she rolled down the trail.
‘Oh, gods!’ Hal leapt after her, almost losing control as he raced down the trail after her, Ty and Gabriella a step or two behind him.
Stephane continued her out-of-control tumble, crying as she struck rocks and branches tore at her clothing and flesh, until she hit hard against an outcropping of rocks at the lower end of a small clearing. Hal was at her side a moment later. Kneeling beside her, he said, ‘Don’t move.’
She looked up at him. ‘I’m an idiot,’ she said weakly.
He pressed quickly where he could, seeing if anything was broken, and found a spectacular collection of abrasions, bumps, and small cuts, but at last said, ‘I don’t think you’ve broken any bones.’
‘I feel dizzy,’ she said weakly as Ty appeared.
‘She must have bumped her head.’
‘Can we move her?’ asked Gabriella.
‘Yes,’ said Hal. He picked up the Princess and tossed her over his shoulder as he would a sack of grain, ignoring her moans. He set off down the trail, hearing the voices of their pursuers.
‘There they are!’ cried Ty.
Hal turned and as gently as possible put the Princess down, drawing his sword. ‘I can see the road below,’
