Had either of his parents been aware of the towering virtues Pol ascribed to them, they would have gaped with astonishment and then roared with laughter. Their catalog of mistakes, miscalculations, and misapprehensions was no less than anyone else’s—and they would have been the first to admit how often they had acted on blind instinct without any patience whatsoever.
Yet as he climbed the last flight of stairs, Pol’s reprimands to himself taught him much more than if his perceptions had been more accurate. Some other time he would examine history and conclude that perfection was not among his parents’ attributes. But for now, exhortations to patience, caution, and knowledge were of much more use to him.
They allowed him to listen with a quiet mind and a calm spirit as Ruval’s challenge echoed on the last starlight just before dawn. Pol heard the arrogance and the anger, the insults and the impudence, and knew they covered fear. He stood in a windowed hallway, in a pool of bright white light, smiling. And made no reply. His answer would come tomorrow when noon sun baked Rivenrock Canyon.
26
Stronghold: 35 Spring
Tobin stormed into her brother’s chambers a little after dawn, her rage reminding him forcibly of their parents. The flash fire temper was Milar’s; the blazing black eyes, Zehava’s. As he heard her out, he wondered idly what they would have thought about this present pass. Not to mention a few other things he had done in his life. . . .
“—as clearly as if the bastard was standing next to me!” Tobin was fuming, pacing up and down before the bed where he lay propped on soft pillows.
“What took you so long to get here?” he interrupted.
“I was with Hollis and Maarken, trying to keep the babies from having hysterics!” she shouted. “First you roust everyone out of bed in the middle of the night, and then Ianthe’s bastard scares the children half to death!”
“Are they all right?” He was half out of bed, ready to go to Chayla and Rohannon even though there was nothing he could do.
“Once they wake up from the sleeping draught we had to give them!” Tobin glared at him.
Rohan settled again with a long sigh. “Listen, do me a favor. Don’t tell Pol. He’d be furious, and that wouldn’t help him at all.”
“Furious? I’ll show you furious! I’ll geld that impudent whelp, shrieking his challenge to every Sunrunner in the keep! I—”
“And to every Sunrunner in reach of starlight,” Rohan interrupted.
That stopped her in her tracks. “What?”
“Sioned confirmed this morning at sunrise. Or, rather, she received messages from Donato at Dragon’s Rest and Meath at Graypearl. Currently she’s contacting several other friends. I suspect the sky will be as busy today as it was last night.”
Tobin sat at the foot of the bed. “And what are you going to do about it?”
“It’s Pol’s fight now, not mine. I’ve done all I can.”
“All you can?” she echoed incredulously. “You could find Ruval the way you found Mireva and—”
“The time for killing Ianthe’s sons in secret was years ago, before anyone knew they existed. Hollis got one of them, Andry the second. The third belongs to Pol.”
“And what if he loses?”
“He won’t.”
“You’re very sure of yourself!”
“No, I’m sure of him.” He raked both hands back through his hair. “I have to be. I was right about where Mireva was hiding, and I was right about Ruval’s means of escape. His horse trotted in just before dawn, wearing Stronghold saddle and harness, and one of our guards was found trussed up in a tack room in the stables. I’ve been right about almost everything, and I’m right about Pol, too. I have to be,” he repeated.
“No one’s ever doubted that you’re clever,” she snapped. “And I have no doubts about Pol, either. But Ruval is an entirely different threat than the pretender was nine years ago.”
“I disagree. The threat isn’t just to Princemarch. Masul tried that, thinking that all he need do was appear at the Rialla to be acclaimed as Roelstra’s true heir. I see now that Alasen was right, and this was the diarmadh’im’s first move back to power. Masul never knew. If he’d won, Ruval would eventually have killed him and taken Princemarch after being revealed as Ianthe’s son. But we can’t think just in terms of land and castles. Look at the way Ruval’s done it, Tobin. How many Sunrunners heard the challenge last night and his claim to Princemarch? One hundred? Two? All of them, touched by starlight, sleeping or waking? Pol’s the next High Prince, but he’s also a Sunrunner. Kill him, gain his lands and his position, and the diarmadh’im have a power base to work against Andry and all other Sunrunners.”
She scowled at him. “And my honorable fool of a brother feels he must meet this challenge head on instead of killing the whoreson outright as he should.”
“If I’d found him last night, perhaps I would have killed him—or let Pol do it. Though I think Andry would have given him a fight for the privilege. But I can’t do that now. Too many people know.”
“And what does Pol know?”
“Everything.”
She caught her breath and all the fire went out of her. “Oh, Rohan,” she whispered.
He looked down at his hands. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And Sioned—but he understands. He may even forgive us, in time. He had to know, Tobin. He needs the advantage that knowledge of his other power can give him.”
“Against his own half-brother.”
He nodded. Kicking back the covers, he rose and shrugged into a thin, pale silk bedrobe. “Arlis is taking a long time about breakfast.”
“Don’t change the subject.” She stopped again, scowling. “Wait—you said that two of Ianthe’s sons are dead. Hollis killed one?”
“Nine years ago. Segev. Sent by Mireva to infiltrate Goddess Keep, probably to steal the scrolls Meath found that year. That’s just a guess, based on the fact that he worked with Andry and Hollis on them. But Urival recognized him and told Pol about it before he died. Pol told us last night, after the challenge. Mireva made a threat about Hollis, that she’d pay for the murder—”
“In Maarken’s hearing?” A fleeting glint appeared in her black eyes.
“Yes. I’m surprised she survived it, myself. In the tack room where the guard was found, there were also several things belonging to Hollis. And one of Chayla’s little shirts and a pair of Rohannon’s shoes as well. I don’t like to imagine what they planned to do with them.”
Tobin sucked in a breath, her eyes kindling again. “I’ll kill that witch myself!”
“I think you’ll approve of my method of execution,” he responded grimly.
She nodded, satisfied. “So Pol knows all of it now.” Her gaze sharpened. “Even my part, and Ostvel’s?”
“Not that he killed Ianthe.”
“Don’t ever tell him.”
“As far as he’s concerned, she died in the Fire.” He paced to the windows, bracing his fists on the ledge.
“You know, Tobin, if Masul had won Princemarch, I would have had to go to war—and with enemies I hadn’t yet guessed at. I owe Maarken and Hollis more than they’d ever acknowledge. Without them, there would have been terrible battles and thousands would have died. Instead. ...” He shrugged again. “We have an intimate little war. Only one of them will emerge from it alive. They’re on equal footing now, Tobin. Both young, strong, and powerful, with exactly the same blood-claim through their mother. ...”
“If it came to war, our people would fight. They’d insist on fighting for you and Pol.”
“Why should thousands suffer for the sake of a few? When I vowed never to raise my sword again in battle, nobody heard that I vowed the same thing for my people.” He turned to her. “To defend them from attack, yes. But if we are ever attacked, my incompetence will have caused it. I’d have no right to ask them to go to war for a fool.