Page 127 of Given to the Black King

“Is he hurt badly?” I ask.

“No.”

“You can see from here?”

“I can smell him.”

Of course she can.

The gates open.

The hold roars when he rides through.

He hands Osk’s axe to Ghenn. He refuses the healer’s first attempt to stop him.

His eyes go to the west wall.

To me.

I put one hand over the mark on my shoulder and hold his gaze.

One step falters.

Then he is moving again.

“Hot water in the king’s chamber,” I tell the chamberlain. “Clear the wing.”

“The wing is clear,” he says. “It has been since the pennant rose.”

The household knows.

Before I leave the wall, I write one order on the back of the battle manifest and give it to Vess. “Recall Callas. Fastest horse, every relay station, and an escort for the return.”

“He has half a day’s start,” she says.

“Then your rider had better be faster than his carriage.”

I hand Marrek the black pennant and take the stairs two at a time.

IONA

He opens the chamber door in half his armor.

Blood covers the black plate. Most of it is not his. The cut above his shoulder is.

He stops when he sees me.

I am standing beside the bath in a plain gray robe I have never worn to court. The fire is high. Hot water steams in the copper tub. Clean cloths and salve wait on the table.

His gaze moves from the water to my face.

“The wall,” he says. His voice is rough from shouting. “You used my name.”

“Spoken alone, it is only your name.”

“Only you could have made it more. The court knows that. They will not repeat it.” His gaze fixes on me. “For one breath, I hoped you would add the summons.”

“I was not choosing the bond from a battlefield.”