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“It’s true,” Draven said. “My father would speak of the Ursidaur who served in the Court of Umbral Flames before his time. They were legendary.”

“I wish I could have seen you fight at the Battle for Brightwind, Hawl,” I said softly.

“It was an impressive sight,” Lancelet confirmed. She nodded to the Bearkin. “We fought back to back at one point. You covered me when I was most fatigued.”

“You fought well,” Hawl acknowledged. “For a mortal.”

Lancelet grinned and tossed her short blonde hair back. “High praise from an Ursidaur.”

“There were rumors after the battle,” Gawain said abruptly. “Amongst the Tintagel soldiers. They said many of their comrades’ bodies could not be found. While others had... strange markings. Teeth marks.” He shook his head. “I thought wild animals must have been at the bodies. Not all could be buried quickly enough.”

“We all know what happens to bodies lying out on a battlefield, Gawain,” Draven said quietly.

“Yes, but this was different. I hadn’t believed the rumors. Not until today. Now what they said makes sense, doesn’t it?” Gawain rose to his feet, a little unsteadily. He was holding the wineskin, I noted. Now he took another swig. “Those bastards. They ate them, didn’t they?”

The campfire circle had become silent.

“Those poor men and women who my father conscripted by some unnatural means and turned into slavering beasts may have eaten the Tintagel soldiers, yes,” I said, rising to my feet. “But, Gawain, we will put a stop to it.”

He nodded quickly. “Of course. That is why we embarked on this journey. But how powerful your father must be to have done all of this, even without the sword, without the grail.”

He was right. But I did not wish to dwell on it.

“I wonder if he even used any of his own men at all,” Lancelet observed. “Or simply drew from the people of Rheged to form the entire force of foot soldiers that came against us.”

“He’ll have plenty of reserves of his own. I have no doubt of that,” Draven said. “But we’re not trying to meet them with equal numbers. Our advantage is stealth.”

Lancelet nodded.

“All this over a simple cup.”

I looked over and, to my shock, saw that Gawain had taken the grail out of Draven’s saddlebag and removed the soft velvet cloth we’d wrapped around it. Now he held it aloft, peering at it as if it might explain itself to him.

“I suppose it is a lovely thing,” he said consideringly. “All of those rubies.”

“Rubies? It’s just a simple wooden cup,” I said with surprise, just as Lancelet said, “Rubies? You’re mad. Those are diamonds.”

I stared at her. “But the outside of the cup is wood. Don’t you see it?”

“I see a gold and silver exterior with sapphires and diamonds,” Draven said. “No wood. And I’ve had close contact with the thing for quite some time.”

I remembered. He had tried to destroy it. I wondered if he’d been the first to ever make the attempt.

“Emeralds with silver,” Guinevere said. “That’s what I see.”

“The thing is made of solid gold,” Hawl chipped in. “It’s clear as day.”

“We all see the cup differently,” I said with wonderment. “I’ve never realized that before. To me, it’s not beautiful at all.”

Although, even if I had been able to see the diamonds and gold the others saw, I knew the chalice would never have been beautiful in my eyes. Not after what it had done to Kaye.

“It’s a bloodthirsty, leeching thing,” Draven said with an edge to his voice. “You should put it away, Gawain.”

“It’s not going to hurt me,” his friend protested. He grinned at Draven. “We could make a toast with it. Do you suppose it’s ever been used for something so mundane before?”

But when Draven did not return the grin, Gawain gave a reluctant shrug, wrapped the grail up carefully again, and tucked it back into the saddlebag.

“Why can’t we just destroy it now?” Lancelet asked grimly. Her tone told me she understood the grail’s true power and would be making no jests about drinking from it as Gawain had.