He laughed, because the pain never left him and now had scarred him afresh. “I have already lost what I cared most for. Twice over. What I seek now I do not desire for my own use, but only for duty’s sake—that duty which I was born to because I am the son of the king. I owe my people protection and well-being. Do not believe, I pray you, that because you live so very far from the cities and lands ruled by my people that you are therefore safe from those among them who can work magic.”
“The seven died, and their line died out too quickly. Only the Kerayit remember the ancient knowledge.”
“Do you mean the Seven Sleepers? They live still, and they have uncovered a working of great power which they mean to weave again in order to cast the Lost Ones back into the aether.” Was that impatience in her expression? She stamped her back leg, and he had an odd instinct that, had she been able to, she would have lain her ears back in annoyance and snapped at him as does a mare bored with a stallion who is bothering her. “If you would only let me explain the story to you in full, I pray you—”
“I know the story, as you cannot. I know what is coming, Prince Sanglant, as you cannot.”
“Many will die—”
“Yes. Many will die. They always do. The Ashioi were our enemies once. We banded together with humankind to war against them. But in the end it is your people who crippled us and brought us low. It is your people who threaten us now, the Quman, the Sazdakh, the Jinna, the Arethousans, these Daisanites who bring their words that make us sick. We chose the wrong enemy. Or perhaps our fate was already sealed.”
“I am not your enemy!”
“I could argue that you are my enemy twice over. Still, I will be willing to speak with you as if you were a female, Prince Sanglant, but only when you have proved your fitness to lead.”
The words angered him, but he replied as evenly as he could. “How may I do that?”
“Have you not already spoken of it? Males prove their fitness in the same fashion, whether human or horse. They exist to breed, and to protect the herd when brute force is needed. There is a beast loose in the grass—”
“You have seen him?” Hope shone briefly. Anger sparked, blazing hot and strong. “He has taken my daughter captive!”
“Destroy the beast that stalks in the grass,” she repeated. “Then I will speak to you again.”
“Will you not help me save my daughter?”
She raised an arm. A huge owl glided in to perch on the centaur’s glove. Breschius gasped out loud. The centaur leaned closer to the owl, but even with his keen hearing, Sanglant made out only a rustling as soft as downy feathers rubbed together. She launched the owl back into the air, and it flew away over the ranks of the centaurs, quickly lost to sight.
She examined Sanglant again. “Hunt, Prince Sanglant. If you return, then we will negotiate.”
With a flick of her tail, she sidestepped, turned, and walked up the hill to her army.
Hathui had got a spear from Captain Fulk and now hastened up the slope to bring it to Sanglant. He unfastened his cloak and turned it inside out, hiding the bright red cloth and exposing the pale fox-fur lining, which blended better with the grass.
“My lord prince.” Hathui handed him the spear, the best balanced of those he possessed. Fulk had chosen well, of course. “I beg you, my lord prince, go carefully. We are all of us—all of Wendar and Varre—lost if you are lost to us.”
“I am lost if I let a man like that kidnap and despoil my daughter.”
“He wants you to follow him. Surely he must kill another griffin, and defeat you, in order to restore his honor and position. Princess Blessing is merely bait.”
“So I hope,” said Sanglant as he surveyed the sky and the slope of the hill. “That will make it easier to find him.”
“Shall I attend you, my lord prince?”
“Nay. Repair camp. Find a more sheltered spot, if you can. Fortify yourselves against unexpected attack, from whatever quarter. Take what you need from what the Quman abandoned. Do not forget that they may creep back and ambush you, but I think that Gyasi can warn you if they approach.”
“If we can trust him,” said Hathui.
“I trust that he seeks revenge against those who wronged him. Watch him, but do not ignore what he has to say.”
“As you wish, my lord prince,” said Breschius.
“What if Bulkezu’s tribe claims him?” asked Hathui.
“They fled before they could collect on their bargain, taking my sister with them. No matter.”
He hefted the spear. Storm clouds piled up to the east where a line of crags erupted out of the high plateau. He smelled the tempest on the west wind. Out in the grasslands, up in the highest lands beyond the reach of the centaur witch, winter still ruled.
Its chilly blast could not possibly be as savage as his anger.