“Why?” Lia demanded, approaching Edmon’s horse and stowing her gear in the saddle bags.

“Not for the ten thousand marks,” he replied snidely. “You already know the reason, Lia.” His heavy lidded eyes flashed at Colvin. “You are either here because the plan was botched or returning for the horses was part of it. Care to enlighten me?”

“Not really,” Colvin replied. He mirrored Lia by unloading the foodstuffs into the saddle bags.

“Then let me see if I can help you,” Dieyre continued, tightening the final brace before swinging himself up by the stirrup. “We received word that the Pry-rian council was plotting to kidnap the Demont girl. Some of our informants in this Hundred spied your hunter…the bearded one…meeting with emissaries in some villages northeast of here. We have been fairly certain that he is allied to the plot. What you may or may not know is that he fought during the Pry-rian wars. There are men who have sworn testimony that he participated in some massacres after the fall of Pry-Ree. He is not just a simple woodsman, he is a soldier. There are many who say he was at Winterrowd with Demont. That he was part of the massacre there. Can you vouch for that, Forshee?”

Colvin looked taciturn. “I never saw him. The Pry-rians helped Demont cross the sea. That is all. There were none in the camp.”

Dieyre looked skeptical. “I have heard otherwise. They were there, Forshee.”

“So was I,” he answered defiantly. “And I was there when the old king tried to lure Demont to his death by sending false knight-mastons in the middle of the night.” He also mounted the horse boldly, sitting straightbacked in the saddle. “Lead the way, Lia,” he said, without taking his eyes off Dieyre.

“I want to believe you,” Dieyre said in a low voice.

“I do not care whether you do,” Colvin replied sternly.

“The king had an arrow in his back. It had Pry-rian fletching. The same fletching in the arrows the girl carries. How did it happen if it was not murder?”

Colvin leaned forward, his expression full of loathing. “Edmon’s brother was the Earl of Norris-York and he was murdered because he was a maston. He could have been arrested for high treason. He could have been tried by a court of his peers as per the law. But he was butchered and killed because of the markings on his sword. If you crave justice so much, why do you ride with a woman who flaunts the law and twists it to her own ends?”

Dieyre also leaned forward in the saddle. “Because I know she wants to kill you too. I did not think your sister would like that. I have tried all along to warn you, to help you, to win your trust. Think of it, Forshee. All of my lands, all of my wealth – on your side. On Demont’s side. All I want in return is your sister.”

Colvin’s jaw clenched. “You think I would barter her to someone like you?”

“Do not be naïve, Forshee. Of course I think that. Despite your pretty speeches about the Medium and fate and thoughts and old tarnished tomes, we are still men of blood and bone. You are afraid to let her choose on her own because you know she would choose me. Imagine what we could do if we joined instead of bickered at each other.”

“I have imagined it. You would want me dead as well,” Colvin replied. “I have seen how you treat other women. I have witnessed it, Dieyre. I will not put my sister through the misery of being your wife.”

Dieyre smiled at the rebuke. “Well said, Forshee. Well said. You have been practicing that insult, I imagine.” He twitched at the reins and made the horse snort. “You do not trust me. I can understand that. Trust must be earned and I am no maston. We can both agree on that. But let us also agree that I can help you. Obviously I am here instead of with Pareigis. I am my own man, not her vassal. So much of her plans are still coming together. There is time still to thwart them.”

The only light in the stable was a single lantern dangling from an iron ring on the wall. Lia could see the dancing flame mirrored in Dieyre’s eyes. He was anxious to ride. The thought of plunging into the darkness was thrilling to him. The thought of betraying Pareigis seemed to give him a glimmer of delight.

She had to admit that having the best swordsman with them when they caught up to the Pry-rians was tempting. She fastened her foot into the stirrup and hoisted herself up. The beast shifted beneath her, but she knew and was known by the animal.

“If you would betray her like this, you would also betray us,” Colvin pointed out.

“Very astute.”

“You are not promising that you will not.”