Page 38 of The Summer Pass

“A monkey,” he said aloud. As far as he knew, there wasn’t a sign for it. He had to repeat the word louder—twice—before Mikhi could understand him. There wasn’t a Hawa word, either, so he had to use the Zashian one.

The prince’s daughter giggled. Mikhi glared.

The servant reappeared and poured tea into tiny cups of almost-transparent pale green stone.

“After you stole our horses,” said Artayarasha, “I wasn’t expecting you to call in the favour I owe you.”

“I was not planning to,” Vanu admitted. He added, “I brought some of the horses back. Rest are in the Summer Pass—you can have them too.”

Artayarasha nodded. “It was a good trick of yours, in the forest. I can appreciate a good trick, even when it’s played on me.”

“He laughed uproariously when his men told him about the dead boar in the tent,” his daughter confided. “I swear by the⁠—”

“No swearing, thank you, my dear,” said Artayarasha mildly. “You have three daughters, I think?” he said to Vanu.

“Yes. Other two were going to the Summer Pass. Don’t know where they are now. My scout was delayed getting news of the king’s army.”

Artayarasha winced. “I see. That’s bad. I don’t know what Pantaresh has planned, I’m afraid. My brother has given him orders without informing me—his usual practice. What did you hope I could do for you?”

“If Pantaresh has my daughters, get them back for me.”

“Of course. And if he doesn’t have them? If they are alive, might they be in Tagra Degra?”

“They might.”

“Right. I can ask Pantaresh to demand the defenders hand them over. I will do everything in my power. You risked your life to save my daughter and returned her to me, and for that I owe you a debt that nothing else which may have passed between your soldiers and mine may touch. If I can discharge my debt to you, then we may look to other matters. Whether we are to be allies or enemies after that … ”

“If you can get me my daughters back, I don’t have it in me to be your enemy.”

Artayarasha digested that and nodded finally. “You may change your mind. It was my idea to wall you up in that stronghold in the Spring Pass after your retainer gave you up to us. I thought you had too much potential as an ally for it to be wise, in the long run, to kill you.”

“You were right.”

“Indeed?” The prince’s eyebrows rose. “I thought you would resent the loss of honour, if nothing else. But you were right where you wanted to be, weren’t you?”

“Yes and no. Was trapped, but in a trap of my choosing.”

“And you got out of it.”

“Was why I chose it.”

Chapter 15

Ten Regiments

The day was a blur in Gurti’s mind afterward, as days of fear and flight usually were, but certain moments stood out. She remembered very clearly watching the rider galloping up the meadow toward the house on the edge of the village. She was standing with Auxshna, who was holding an armload of bedding that she had been about to hang out to air. Gurti pointed and turned to her, about to make some light remark about the rider’s speed. She thought he was a Zashian courier—he was bare-headed, and she could see his dark hair even from this distance.

Auxshna dropped her armload of bedding in the dirt of the yard. Her eyes were wide, her expression alarmed.

“It’s Halza,” she said, and in another moment she had gathered up her skirts, jumped over the pile of bedding, and taken off at a flat run across the meadow.

Gurti watched for a moment, shocked into stillness. Halza had left the previous afternoon, when they reached Manáshta, and the parting between him and Auxshna had not been warm. Was she so excited about the possibility of him galloping back to throw himself at her feet after all? It seemed unlikely.

But she had looked alarmed. She didn’t think he was coming back for her. Belatedly, Gurti began to run down the meadow herself.

When she reached them, Halza had reined in his horse and dismounted, and he and Auxshna were speaking urgently in Zashian. They didn’t look like lovers, but they weren’t arguing, either.

Auxshna turned as Gurti arrived, breathless, beside them.