“Yes, your majesty.” Wolf retreated to his warrior-training; his face set to neutral. He bowed low to his cousin.
Sorrow filled the queen’s eyes. She laid a hand on Wolf’s cheek. “Be careful, my dear cousin. If you’re too greatly outnumbered, fall back and send word to me. It is vital that we understand who we face, how they came to our world, and what they want.”
Wolf bowed again. “I will be careful.”
After the queen had taken her leave, Brother Wolf turned and gave Little Horse a sad smile. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to spend time with you. I must go. Give my love to your mother.”
Little Horse realized that if Sword Strike had brought him here because of his name, then now was the time to act. “Take me with you.”
“Little Horse!” Wolf gripped his shoulders and gave him a little shake. “You’re not of age yet.”
“I’m old enough to decide my household,” he said. “I know my heart. I want to go with you to the Westernlands. You will need me.”
Wolf shook his head. “You are not old enough to fight.”
Little Horse fought the fear that he’d run out of time and be swept aside and then left behind. He kept his voice level and chose his words as carefully as time allowed. “A horse does not fight. It bears your weight when you need to be carried. You will do the fighting.”
Wolf glanced to Discord.
The female’s father might be Sword Strike, but her mother was Pure Radiance. Her mixed caste was marked in her pale blond hair gathered into a tight sekasha braid. She looked more like her famous mother than her father. “My mother will not tell you if you ask,” she murmured. “Knowledge changes the path taken. It has to be his decision to go and your decision to take him.”
“You were given a warrior’s name.” Little Horse reminded his brother. “We are bound at my birth by my name.”
“My mother!” Discord snarled. “She named us all! She uses people like little chess pieces to move themselves over a game board that only she can see.”
“If it was just a game,” Little Horse said, “your father Sword Strike would never allow it.”
Discord snorted.
“He is right,” Wolf said. “Nor would Pure Radiance bother if it was not important.”
“You don’t know my mother…”
“I know she is the most ruthless, calculating female alive. She would do anything to see the future fulfilled: betray her own mother, sacrifice her lover, or bear a child and put her in the path of danger. I know she guided us through the Rebellion and out of the Clan Wars. If we must walk this path to protect our people, then we will.”
Wolf leaned forward to press his forehead against Little Horse’s. “I love you, little brother. And you’re not so little anymore, so I must acknowledge that it is your right to follow your heart. I offer you the protection of my household and when the time comes and you win your sword, I will gladly accept all that you are willing to offer to me. If at that time, your heart takes you elsewhere, so be it.”
He wanted to say “never.” If Wolf wanted the comfort of allowing him such unwanted freedom as the price for taking Little Horse to the Westernlands, then he would keep his silence. “Thank you.”