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I held the unloaded gun out so they could see the parts. Bruce took it first, turning it over in his hands with careful interest. Douglas took the second one and tested the weight, his expression intense. Niall watched more quietly.

“They make a loud noise,” I said. “And they kick back in your hand. You have to hold them steady with both hands if you can. Aim at the center of what you want to hit.”

I showed them the safety features as best I understood them, then had each of them practice loading and unloading with empty magazines while I watched. Torin stood a few paces behind me, silent, his eyes never leaving the men.

When they seemed to have the basic motion, I turned to the drone.

“This one is different.” I lifted it out of the hard case. “Like I showed you yesterday, it flies. There’s a camera here — it lets you see from above. These are the controls.”

I powered it on. A soft hum rose and the drone lifted clumsily a few feet under my guidance, hovered, then drifted sideways when my thumb slipped. I brought it back down quickly.

“You use the sticks to go up, down, left, right. The screen shows you what it sees. It can go higher than the walls. As Torin pointed out, you can look into places without sending a man.”

Bruce’s eyes were intent. Douglas stepped closer. Niall asked a question about how long it could stay in the air. I told them the truth as I understood it — the battery would last for a useful time and could take power from the sun.

I let each of them try the controls for a few minutes. The drone wobbled under the king’s hands and rose more smoothly under Douglas’s. Niall was careful and precise. None of them were experts, but they grasped the idea fast enough. The look in their eyes was the same look I would see in my guy-friends’ eyes when they were playing video games, a mixture of excitement and detached concentration.

When the short lesson was finished I stepped back. “That’s all I can show you. You’ll learn more by using them. The ammunition for the guns won’t last forever. The drone will last for a long time if you let it take the sun.” I held up a pale white book. “You can read the instructions for the drone here.”

Bruce nodded once.

He looked from the weapons to me, then to Torin. “Ye have kept yer part of the bargain, Lady Alexandria.”

“Then we’re free to go?”

“Ye are.” His eyes narrowed again. “But ye daena want guards?”

Torin said, “Nae,” and then did n’t wait for more conversation. He moved to the horses, checked the girths with his good hand, and gave the stable boy a short word of thanks.

I mounted first.

Torin swung up onto Cathbarr with an effort that caused him to hiss in pain. Dude was already settled in one of the packs, only the tip of an ear visible.

We turned our horses south.

25

ALEXANDRIA

1308 - WE ARGUE ON THE ROAD AWAY FROM DUNSTAFFNAGE

Behind us the king, Douglas, and Niall remained near the open case, the two Glocks and the drone between them. I did not look back for long.

Torin glanced at me once as we rode away from the gate. “Ye did well, Princess, we are free, yet we ought tae pray they daena accidentally shoot each other, they are too important tae the history of Alba.”

I gulped. “Damn, that’s a good point, what if I’ve changed history?”

He scoffed. “Robert the Bruce wins, ye helped him win by givin’ him yer weapons, maybe ye were always the one who helped him win.”

“That would be weird.”

“Maybe ye are the reason why Scotland is the greatest nation of free peoples on earth.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I told you what happens, right? That Scotland and England join up?”

He chuckled. “Aye, I just choose not tae believe ye, Princess, tis unsettling.”

“Alright, I agree, Albannach, we won’t talk about that. We will just talk about how Scotland is great.”