Page 54

F eng had summoned the Small Council no sooner had the soulbound left. Jai had tried not to complain. Feng had taken the liberty of claiming Jai’s share of the spoils from the battle, small though they were – taken from the dead, as was custom. He was making arrangements to welcome the new tribe too, a feast included, though once again the khymis would be under strict supervision.

There was still much to be done, and the Kidara might be surprised to find another tribe of over a thousand people joining them. Or rather, two tribes. He’d had no idea if Devin now led both the Keldar and the Maues.

So when the Small Council was filled once again, Jai had not been surprised to find it a little more crowded. Devin had brought his bride, resplendent in her golden battle armour, to join him. She was introduced as Anita. It appeared the two would rule jointly over their respective houses.

The map was once more stretched along the crowded table, and Jai was glad of the height of his throne, so that he could see it from above.

Now the table was a rash of discussions, and none of them suggested heading west to fight the Sabines. Or even considered that as a goal. Still, exhaustion did not give him leave to tune out of the discussions. Ultimately, the decision lay with him.

He wasn’t unprepared, though. He’d had time to rest and heal, and to ruminate on what had made him ride out, rushed and alone in the dead of night.

Erica.

‘Devin,’ Jai said, stopping the conversation dead.

The man blanched at his name, and Jai remembered their last exchange had not been a pleasant one.

‘You say you traded some captives to the Caelite, a little over two weeks ago. Is this true?’

He nodded slowly.

‘How?’

Devin stared at him, brows furrowed, until a prod from Anita set his tongue loose.

‘Every month, they send a trading party to a meeting place, perhaps two kiris from here. We do not know if that is where their stronghold is.’

Jai cursed beneath his breath. A day’s ride, but weeks to wait. His tribe could ill afford to remain here.

‘And if you need to see them sooner?’

Devin extended his palms.

‘I’m sorry, we have never needed to. We waited there, for the appointed time. They came, we traded. They left.’

Jai sighed, and rubbed his temples. This was not the answer he had wanted. But he knew they were out here. Hunting, with their birds. Would they entertain the flag of truce, if he used it?

Feng had said earlier, none knew, though rumour said they had once followed the Pact. Jai’s encounter that early morning seemed to fly in the face of that, but he supposed he did not look like a riteless boy, seeking a khiro to tame, treasure to loot or enemies to conquer.

They truly did keep to themselves, their customs a mystery to most of the Great Steppe, who cared little for their strange neighbours. Nobody even knew how Jai’s father had convinced them to join his cause.

He wanted to ask more of Devin, but the conversation had already moved on.

‘—You didn’t see what we did,’ Sindri said. ‘The Gryphon Guard plague the Great Steppe. They might descend here any minute and take Jai in his sleep. Begging your pardon, my khan.’

‘I will sleep in a smaller tent,’ Jai said. ‘A different place, every night. Have our best warriors pitch their tent close to this one, and have the guard watch the skies. Should the Gryphon Guard attack, they will find an empty bed, and a ring of swords to greet them.’

It seemed weak to accept their helplessness to the Gryphon Guard’s power of flight. Bows would be a reasonable counter, but as far as he knew, few Sithians hunted, for they got all the meat, milk, grain and herb they needed from their khiroi and the grasslands themselves.

Knowing this, the traders had no bows to sell either, of those that remained. Most of the caravans had abandoned them when they stopped for so long at the mountainside.

The table had fallen to an uneasy silence.

‘It’s only a temporary solution, of course. What we must do is deal with the threat at its source,’ Jai said. ‘These Gryphon Guard, they sally from the legion, which we must assume is working its way deeper into the Great Steppe.’

More silence. Even more uneasiness.

Jai understood why. He had been thinking on this very problem, while the table had debated. There was no profit in them risking blood and treasure to defeat the legion, for they had nothing the Kidara wanted. Perhaps they could melt down the steel, forge new blades. Take the gold meant for the legion’s pay. All that was hardly worth the risk. After all, even in victory, they would lose many warriors. Any other tribe might take advantage of their weakened state then. It was why all the Small Council tacitly avoided the subject.

It was why it was up to him to press it.

‘We must seek alliances,’ Jai said. ‘It was how Leonid was defeated in the past. So too must he be again.’

It was the only answer he could think of. Still, nobody would meet his gaze.

‘Right now, the Gryphon Guard wreak havoc, and it will not be long before smaller tribes will begin to suffer. I know Magnus. If he has been unleashed on the Great Steppe... it will be a bloody business. Surely they will see this is the only course of action?’

‘If they even grant us an audience,’ Feng muttered.

‘We have won victories, twice over,’ Jai said. ‘Great ones. I am the son of Rohan, the last of the high khans. I lead an army that any would fear. Why would they reject my envoy?’

‘Sire,’ Sindri said. ‘In our eyes, you are khan. We will follow you into battle, stand beside you to the last. But... you are not rited.’

There were nods from the table, particularly from Devin, and to Jai’s surprise, many of the Kidaran nobles. At her words, the tension in the room lifted. As if it was an unspoken secret, one Jai had not realised until this moment. Feng had warned him of this, and Sindri too. He thought he had time. He thought they all saw themselves at war, as he did. Clearly, to them at least, the war was over.

Now, it seemed, he must face it.

‘How long can we wait here?’ Jai asked, interrupting the debate. ‘How much food have we?’

Eyes turned to Feng, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

‘We cannot remain here much longer,’ he said, confused. ‘But now we have enough warriors to stand against any of the other Great Tribes. Why would we stay?’

‘Because if you say I must be rited to be considered a true khan, then that is what I have to do,’ Jai said. ‘If we don’t have enough food to remain here, I understand – I’d just like to know where to find you then, and know that you’re safe in my absence.’

The table erupted in argument, but what were they actually arguing about? They’d said it themselves: he wasn’t rited and until that happened, there was no true path forwards, no matter what path was chosen. So he let them argue as he leaned back, letting the words wash over him. His path was set.