'Tigers first,' he declared. 'Emin said there would be a menagerie of animals, and I'm guessing it'll be downwind of here. I'm seeing a tiger before I do anything more.' He reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze of brotherly affection. Tila could do nothing but laugh at the anticipation on his face as she trotted after him.

'So, my Lord, do you still think your wager is safe? Emin pointed with his cigar to the knight taking the crowd's applause. The young man shone in the sunlight as he wheeled his horse about, waving to the crowd. His visor was up and Isak could see the beaming face of a youth about his own age. As the new – and youngest-ever – champion of the Kingsguard, Emin had gifted the knight with a gold-inlaid suit of armour. The helm had been fashioned into the cherubic features of one of Karkarn's Aspects, a boyish smile with one blood-red tear falling from his right eye, an image that was often used by the Harlequins for their masks.

'He's good, but he can't have come up against a man of Count Vesna's ability,' answered Tila for her Lord.

She blushed as Emin smiled at her and asked, 'You've seen much jousting, my lady?'

'My brother lives for it, your Majesty.'

'Then perhaps you would judge the next two men as they parade? Thank you, my dear. Lord Isak, while your most capable advisor prepares my next wager, perhaps we should peruse the crowd.' He selected a sweetened prawn from the plate between them and nodded his head to the opposing pavilion. Isak followed the movement, his eye going straight to a group of people taking seats opposite them.

It was hard to stand out in a crowd of rich noblemen and women, but Herolen Jex had managed it. Dressed in red and white, he glided along the walkway ahead of five others. All eyes were on him. The tanned skin of a Western Islander had darkened further with a lifetime under the sun. Isak could easily imagine this man striding the deck of a ship: Jex walked as if he owned the pavilion and all those in it. His glittering smile swept down the rows of people, and they seemed to feel it touch their skin. A whole line of noblemen rippled around to meet his gaze, before lowering their eyes as if he were royalty. The man might have been an enemy, but Isak couldn't help admiring Jex's presence.

Isak glanced at Emin while this procession was going on. The king's eyes were narrow and focused. He was smoking his cigar in his usual languid fashion, but he seemed oblivious to the smoke passing in front of his eyes. Isak looked back to the other pavilion: Jex seated – and looking directly at them. The pirate was sprawled over two seats, one arm running down the backrest and his boots resting on the one in front. It was causing significant discomfort to the man in front of him, but he didn't appear to be objecting.

Jex matched stares with Isak and Emin, then slid his boots back on to the boards below. Leaning forward, he plucked a cigar from the hands of the hapless noble in front, sat back and began to puff away at it in mockery of the king. Emin gave a slight nod in acknowledgement, which Jex returned.

Isak just pointed to Count Vesna, preparing for his next joust, and made an obscene gesture at the pirate. Jex threw his head back and laughed loud enough to hush half of the pavilion, taking no notice of the curious looks he received.

Similarly, Isak ignored both the groan from behind him, and his political advisor poking a leather-shod toe into her Lord's back.

They watched the jousting for much of the afternoon. The gathering opposite them was in a constant state of flux, but they soon noticed a pattern in the way Jex's companions were moving about. The man just sat still and waited for reports to be collected and brought to him. When Vesna easily toppled his third and last opponent of the day, Jex affected a yawn and threw a coin on to the sand as the count dismounted to take his applause. The crowd hushed immediately – the whole city had heard of the coming duel.

Vesna pretended not to see the throw, idly discovering the coin at his feet a few seconds later. Both pavilions craned their heads forward as he bent to pick it up. The Farlan hero held it up to the light for a moment, them turned towards Isak and, with affected delight, held the silver piece up for his Lord to see.

The Krann raised a thumb in approval, knowing Vesna's self-deprecating humour well enough, and the whole crowd began to laugh. Beaming from ear to ear, Vesna walked back to his page with a jaunty step made even more comical by the constraints of his armour.

The crowd laughed even harder, but Jex failed to join in. CHAPTER 33

'Isak, it's time to decide.' Tila couldn't tell if he'd even heard her speak: the frown on his face was more pensive than angry.

Still Isak didn't react. They had been talking endlessly about the Devoted major and his news, right into the early hours, and now it was the last day of Spring Fair and no one was convinced they knew what the right thing to do was. Isak wasn't sure he trusted the earnest young major; there was too much he didn't understand. And yet… And yet it was too obvious to be an ambush. Isak's company might not be large, but his men were Ghosts and it would take more than a single regiment to overcome them, especially if they were already on their guard.

Then there was the added problem of Lord Bahl: he wouldn't wait for his Chief Steward to come up with evidence; he would just attack. For all their power, the Devoted stood no chance against the Farlan Army.

And there was another worry: King Emin. Emin and that dangerous little smile of his – in some ways, that was the only reassurance Isak had. The Narkang king was clever, and he wanted the Farlan to know it. If he were Isak's enemy, he would not have shown so much of himself. It was obvious there was more involved, but Emin had dropped enough hints for Isak to be sure his plans were suitably grand in scope, and needing Parian involvement, not enmity.

He sighed, deeply, and turned to Tila. 'The red.'

Tila held up the red silk scarf that she'd bought the previous day, then knotted the white about Megenn's reins. Vesna nudged his horse closer and she tied the red scarf about his arm, already clad in black-iron. The count had been permitted to wear his enchanted armour after the king had ruled that it was no less awkward than unensorcelled plate, and would not give him an unfair advantage. The count

wondered if he also agreed so the expected finale would be all the more dramatic: the Lion of Anvee darkly glittering in the sun, facing the shining form of Emin's champion, the youth nicknamed the Sun-bee because of his gold-plated armour. The contrast of misty black and glittering gold would certainly be good fare for the dozens of minstrels and storytellers out on the plain this day.

'Are you sure?' Carel looked far from happy at the decision.

'We can ask the king for an escort, surely?' This was a question Isak had wanted to avoid: he didn't want the king to be privy to all his secrets, in case he had misjudged the man – the last thing he wanted was to leave open the opportunity to blame any 'accident' on the Knights of the Temples. Isak could see from Carel and Vesna's reactions that he wasn't the only one concerned about how much they were trusting the king.

'From what I've found, the Ivy Rings would be a bad place for an ambush, no matter how isolated. As for Emin, I think we can trust him, but who knows – there aren't that many Farlan I can trust completely. "Knowledge is power" – Lesarl's favourite phrase.' He laughed hollowly. 'And a wise man knows more than his closest friend.'

That's true enough.' Vesna gave the scarf a tug to check it was secure. 'But you can take this too far sometimes.'

Isak looked down at the ground, refusing to look his bondsman in the eye.