Max shifted, and looked uneasy. “Torin, I am the rightful king. I should bring the sword down on the neck of my enemies?—”
Torin turned to him. “Ye are the king, aye. And kings daena bleed out on courtyard stones while their champion watches. The duel is mine, Max. Ye ken why.”
Max opened his mouth, closed it, and scowled. “Because ye are a stubborn bastard who thinks himself immortal?”
Torin chuckled. “Nae. Because the last three times we hae fought this battle I hae watched ye take a bolt tae the chest and carried ye home, beggin’ God tae save ye. I will nae do it again. This time the only blood on the ground will be Rannald’s.”
Charlie said, “How do we keep from dying, that’s what I want to know.”
“This time I fix the three things that went wrong, without tellin’ ye all of what happened.” He tapped three spots on the map.
“One. Max, as I said, will nae be on these steps beggin’ for a bolt tae the lung. He will be here near Ryan, his banner high, drawin’ Rannald’s ire and attention. I will make the challenge and take the fight.”
Max started to argue.
Torin shook his head, “Nae arguin’, dost I need tae show ye the letter again?”
Max folded his arms irritated.
“Two. Charlie, without tellin’ ye the full story, ye will nae be in the courtyard playin’ hero, ye will be on the wall with the drone controller, droppin’ fire from above where no blade can reach ye.”
Charlie opened his mouth.
Torin kept going. “Alexandria will be with ye, she will assist ye and ye will be keepin’ her safe.”
“Three.” Torin stabbed the mouth of the tunnel to the sally port on the model of the castle. “If Rannald daena die, if he is dragged away, I will nae stop. I will nae carry anyone. If ye are spewin’ up blood, m’laird, I will nae help ye home, I will chasethat black cloak through every rat-hole in Dunstaffnage until I put steel through his heart.”
Ryan said, “What if he time jumps?”
“I will grab his arm. And kill him where he lies.”
Aenghus said, “Ye could end up in terrible places and if ye miss the extraction…?”
“I am nae goin’ tae worry on it. Ye will go without me if ye need tae go. I hae landed in strange worlds that I dinna understand, I hae done it, I can do it again. If I miss the extraction…” He met my eyes. “Then ye jump without me.”
I frowned.
“Promise me.”
I huffed. “I don’t want to promise you, because I won’t be able to leave you.”
“Ye canna argue, ye told me that if I brought ye, ye would listen. Tis now, tis if I canna make it tae the extraction point. Ye will still go. Daena worry, Princess, I will find ye on the other side of the centuries if I have tae walk every one.”
The room was dead quiet.
Finally I said, “Fine, but I’m going to give you the gold thread, no arguing.”
Aunt Claray said, “He will hae mine.”
Torin nodded, then said, “This ends tomorrow. One battle, only one corpse. One king taking his rightful throne.”
The room erupted in a single, roaring “Aye!”
Max said, “Ye promise ye will be there at my coronation?”
Torin straightened, clapped Max on the shoulder, and said, “Aye, m’laird, I wouldna miss it.”
But I noticed he wouldn’t meet Max’s eyes.
