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Our borders near by the day, but the men grow more hollow. Our food supplies dwindle, for Rufinus’s men must scout our vicinity, for fear of the mammoths’ return.

These walls are both a prison and a dam, and even my centurions whisper in the dark. They say the expedition is forever cursed, for we did not bury our dead. They forget, it was they that clamoured to leave, when the bodies began to stink, and none dared leave the safety of our walls to put them in the ground.

At least the way we came is an easier path. And for now, my enemy has retreated. Rohan is a wily fox. But the lion rules the savannah.

J ai stomped up the stairway of the mesa, Feng hurrying behind. It was awkward to climb in the regalia of his royal house, and he was trying not to sweat through the makeup that caked his face.

This was more than he’d ever worn before, and he’d been woken in the early hours not long after his parting with Erica to begin the long process of getting ready. His eyes were caked with kohl and his cheeks striped with henna, and the folds of silk swathed about his body made him feel more a cosseted concubine than a king.

He’d rather have been in full battle armour, but this was a holy place. One that it seemed had hosted past meetings of the tribes before, if Feng’s words rang true. Indeed, it was here that the peoples of Rohan’s alliance had sheltered throughout the war. It heartened him to know he’d chosen here, as if both his Sithian heritage was in his blood and his mother was guiding him.

Feng stopped when they reached the top of the plateau, staring out over the horizon, at the lagoon and forest that ringed them, enshrined by the infinite halo of green grassland.

‘Never been this high,’ Feng said, short of breath. ‘Is this what you see when you ride Winter?’

Jai appreciated the break in tension.

‘This is nothing. You should see it from the mountains,’ he said. ‘It is like a glimpse of how the Mother sees our world.’

Feng gave a jealous sigh, and tore his gaze away. The mesa was near flat, a slight slope dragging Jai’s feet on as he headed for the glowing torches at the mesa’s centre. The Caelite birds circled above, shepherding the High Council. Winter and Regin were among the roqs, flying side by side, giving the strange avians a wide berth.

Jai was glad of them, for if the Gryphon Guard were to strike, they could take out the entire Sithian leadership in a single attack. It was one of the many reasons it was unlikely they could ever have a gathering like this again. At least, not with their entire tribes in tow.

‘Remember,’ Feng whispered. ‘You called this meeting, and they came. That says a lot. Have confidence, you are as much a khan as any of them, maybe even more. Your father was High Khan, for Mother’s sake.’

Jai hushed him, a smile tugging his lips.

‘Don’t worry, Feng,’ he said. ‘I’ve got this.’

Ahead, Jai’s tent had been set up for their guests, and each khan had brought their throne ahead of them, such that all would sit tall around the table.

As Jai marched to the tent entrance, he saw Kiran and her bodyguard, armed to the teeth, their eyes fixed upon the skies.

‘All clear?’ Jai asked.

‘Nothing yet,’ she said.

‘Good,’ Jai said. ‘First sign of trouble, don’t worry about interrupting, just let us know. And put out these torches if you please. It’ll look like a bullseye from above.’

‘Right away, my khan.’

Jai ducked through the tent’s flaps. Within, there were no partitions, just the grand table set up in its usual position. But there were new thrones there, alongside his throne.

He recognised the Mahmut tribe’s leader instantly, not because he’d met the man, but because he sat on a mammoth tusk throne that nearly dwarfed Jai’s own, with a swarthy, barrel-bellied occupant to fill it.

He stood as Jai entered, as did the others, each with their own great chairs of bone, horn, carved wood and plush cushion. Each khan had a man hovering at their shoulders, the viziers of a dozen tribes brought to advise. Already, he could see them leaning in, whispering.

Only the Caelite sat on a bench, one borrowed from the Kidara. Eko and the Speaker shared it, looking small alongside the raised thrones of the others. Jai was glad to see Erica there too, standing behind them, dressed in a simple smock that did nothing to hide her beauty.

Jai took his place in front of his throne, only to see one man had not stood at his arrival: Teji. His uncle sat upon a throne near identical to Jai’s, only the horns were still fresh, the blood still drying at their bases.

Nazeem stood smirking at Teji’s side, and Feng let out a growl that Jai stilled with a grip of his wrist. Jai nodded respectfully to each khan in turn, four women and ten men in total. All but his uncle.

Then he sat too, tugging at the silks about his neck before speaking with a steady voice.

‘I thank you for your council,’ Jai said, speaking the words Feng had instructed. ‘Be welcome. Please, sit.’

There was a rustle and creak as the others followed suit, the eyes of the most powerful men and women in the land all on him, silent except in whispered replies to their incessant viziers.

‘I am Jai, khan of the Kidara,’ Jai said, as was proper.

‘I am Tenzin, khan of the Mahmut,’ the large man said, leaning deep across the table.

‘I am Teji, khan of the Tejinder,’ Teji said in a bored voice.

‘I am the Speaker, and this is Eko, leader of the Caelite.’

More introductions rippled around the table, until the last had spoken. Jai took a deep breath, and stood, motioning at the map laid in front of them. The mesa had been well rendered by Jai’s cartographer, and the legion had been represented by scores of eagle-headed figurines. The poor man had worked his hands bloody to prepare the pieces, but it was well worth it, for now the khans stared at it, some pointing to their viziers and whispering.

Good , Jai thought. You should be concerned . Because the map laid out their situation in a way that could not be ignored.

‘A lifetime ago, my father met with the khans of the Great Tribes to form an alliance,’ Jai intoned. ‘An alliance that held firm against the Sabine threat, and secured a peace that has lasted a generation.’

‘ I secured it,’ Teji said. ‘I met with the Sabines. Agreed to terms. Your father lost the war. I ended it.’

‘Be careful of what you claim credit for,’ Tenzin growled. ‘That peace was paid for in the fettering of tens of thousands of our peoples.’ Others around the table nodded, while some shook their heads, clearly happier with Teji’s take on history.

For himself, Teji shrugged, petulant as a child. Jai spoke on, but not before leaving a moment for Teji’s behaviour to be felt.

‘We have no choice but to fight this war anew. This time, however, it is different.’

‘Go on,’ Teji chuckled, shaking his head with exaggerated disbelief. ‘I can’t wait to hear this.’

‘Is there something funny about the massacre of the Cimmer?’ Jai demanded, speaking the name of the slaughtered tribe.

There were murmurs and nods from around the table, and Nazeem whispered urgently. Teji sat straightened from his relaxed pose, giving a mute shake of his head.

‘Do not let the shame of your defeat colour this discussion, Uncle,’ Jai snapped. ‘You disrespect the time of my esteemed guests. And by coming here without invitation, I will remind all that you are no guest of mine.’

‘Speak, runt,’ Teji snapped. ‘It is you who wastes time.’

Jai gritted his teeth, wondering what would happen if he tried to throw out his uncle. Then he caught their gazes, and realised he’d lost his place in his speech. Tenzin raised a hand, nodding to Jai.

‘No need to wax eloquent, Khan Jai,’ he said, his voice polite, but firm. ‘Many of us here were in the tent for the first alliance, some of us even sitting behind our fathers. What do you propose?’

‘Suicide,’ Teji spat.

Jai bit back a retort, and spoke on, even amid growing murmurs.

‘Leonid is dead,’ he declared. ‘And not by my hand. Titus killed him. Killed his father too. Seized power for himself. Blamed my brothers, my amah . Blamed me. Cut their throats right in front of my eyes.’

The table fell silent, the whispers stopped.

‘I know the man. More boy than man, in truth.’

‘You’re one to talk,’ Teji muttered, but Jai ignored it.

‘He is not the general that Leonid was. Just a spoiled pup, eager for glory.’

‘And what of Magnus?’ Teji said, Nazeem whispering frantically in his ear. ‘The Gryphon Guard in the last war numbered but a dozen. Now, they are fifty.’

Jai nudged Feng as he spoke, the signal they had agreed to. His vizier hurried to the nearby entrance, and reached into a sack he had stashed there. Without ceremony, he tossed its contents onto the table.

The gryphon’s head rolled alongside the golden helm, the stench of the vinegar they had preserved it in since taking it off its stake messing the air. The khans recoiled, the whispers turned to speech as they voiced their disbelief.

‘They are not so tough,’ Jai growled. ‘Here is the last one that crossed my path.’

‘A parlour trick,’ Teji said, even as his eyes bulged from his head.

‘I am soulbound to a dragon!’ Jai replied, his voice rising above the murmurs. ‘And I am in alliance with the Dansk, who have a dozen of their own. If the Caelite join with us’ – he stabbed a finger at Eko – ‘we will have no trouble holding our own against them.’

Yet Eko shook his head, a rueful smile upon his face. ‘We are here to provide the meeting protection. Nothing more.’

Jai turned to the remaining khans, slapping the table to get their attention. They were still staring at the gryphon’s head, and Feng snatched it back, out of sight.

‘Tell that to them,’ Jai said, pointing at the others. ‘Go on.’

Eko inclined his head, as if this was of no moment.

‘The Caelite will have no part in this war.’

Jai waited, but the khans were silent. Indeed, they seemed in awe of the strange, hairless men that sat beside them. Clearly the Caelite were as much a mystery as they had been when Jai made his climb.

‘We also will have no part,’ another khan said, a buck-toothed man with red silks all about him, the crest of crossed impala horns emblazoned upon his chest.

‘We too,’ said another, one of the women, emblazoned in orange and the symbol of a setting sun.

Jai stared, shocked at the response. Only now did he see them exchange glances with Teji, and his uncle’s open smile. Nazeem’s dark eyes bore into Jai’s own. There was... hatred there.

Of course. The cowards were working against him.

‘There must be five thousand warriors gathered here,’ Jai said. ‘And more, if the smaller tribes join us – I hear some journey here now, even as we speak.’

‘They will,’ Tenzin muttered. ‘Join us, I mean. It is they who will suffer most under the gryphons.’

‘Five thousand,’ Jai said. ‘Against five thousand legionaries.’

‘Wrong,’ Teji said.

‘How so?’

‘The Sabine army is vast.’

‘It is but one legion!’ Jai snarled. ‘We could crush them!’

‘For now ,’ Teji retorted. ‘How many march into the Northern Tundra as we speak? How many more garrison the forts along our border? Ten legions, at least, with more being called up by the day. Fifty thousand warriors of the greatest fighting force in the world. They outnumber us ten to one.’

‘The Dansk hold their own,’ Jai said. ‘They have thousands of warriors fighting right now, and a dozen dragons to keep the Gryphon Guard at bay. Even now, the legion that approaches had but three Gryphon Guard accompanying them, so great is the dragon threat.’

‘Who cares about the Dansk?’ Teji laughed. ‘Drunk savages, all. If Titus wants to swallow that lump of ice, so be it. We’ll be next.’

Jai glanced at Erica, but she shook her head. Not yet.

‘Titus fights on two fronts,’ Jai said, raising his voice to be heard above the murmuring. ‘We cannot discount them.’

‘The Dansk will not help us against the Gryphon Guard,’ Teji asserted. ‘When the beasts ravage our lands, do you think they will send their dragons to defend us?’

‘I do,’ Jai said.

‘You are delusional,’ Teji roared. ‘A pup with no head for politics. No experience. And if you want to follow him into war, then you are just as foolish as my late brother was.’

‘The Dansk and I are in alliance,’ he said firmly. ‘They will come to our aid, if we will come to theirs. And right now, that means defeating the legion, and invading the Sabines’ eastern territories. Titus will have no choice but to pull legions from the northern front.’

Silence met his words, but he could see the doubt in the eyes of the others, even those who had not yet made their position clear.

‘Jai,’ Tenzin said quietly. ‘Who are you to speak for the Dansk?’

Jai looked to Erica, and caught her smile.

‘I don’t,’ Jai said. ‘ She does.’

Eyes swung to Erica as she leaned across the table, resting on her knuckles as she met the eyes of those seated.

‘Perhaps I should have spoken earlier,’ she said.

‘I am Erica, Queen of the Dansk.’