'Of all the luck.' Florin shook her head. 'Halcyon favours you!'
'Are the manticores all dead?' Byren asked. Orrade stood and tried to get the ladder's mechanism working.
'Aye. All dead,' Florin said.
'We lost Crusher.' Leif's voice quavered.
'I'm sorry, lad. He was a fine dog,' Byren said and Piro could tell he meant it. That's why people loved her brother.
'I can't get the ladder to drop,' Orrade announced. 'The ropes are missing.'
'If the cliff wasn't covered in snow I could try to climb it,' Byren said.
Florin stepped in front of Orrade. 'We take the ropes and pulleys off for winter.' Then she leant out to call down to Byren. 'You'd never make it up the cliff, I tried last summer.'
'Ho, that's a challenge if I ever heard one,' Garzik muttered to Piro, as he pulled her to her feet.
She smiled. She was beginning to understand why they teased each other. It wasn't that they weren't afraid. They were, but the best way to meet fear was to laugh at it.
'Could you make it, if I threw down a rope?' Florin asked Byren.
'Of course he could,' Orrade said, even as Byren said much the same thing.
Florin turned to Leif. 'Run back to the store room and bring a coil of rope.'
'I'll go with him,' Garzik offered. 'Make sure it's strong enough.'
Piro found she was suddenly so tired she couldn't stand up straight, and her limbs trembled.
'Better take Piro — I mean, the kingsdaughter,' Florin advised.
'Piro will do,' she insisted. 'And I don't know what's wrong with me — '
'Don't worry,' Florin told her. 'I feel a bit shaky myself.'
Piro laughed. She couldn't imagine Florin giving in to weakness.
'We'll be ready soon, Byren,' Orrade called down to him. 'Trust you to take on a manticore bare handed!'
'Actually, it was the fall down the cliff that killed it,' Byren corrected. 'That and me landing on it!'
The others roared with laughter. Piro found she laughed so much she cried. Florin gave her a hug and sent her off with Garzik and Leif.
Byren had been torn between heading straight back to Rolenhold or taking the time to remove the manticore chitin so he could present it to their father. The memory of Warlord Corvel of Manticore in his fabulous chitin breast plate decided him. Removing the chitin and loading it on the sled had taken the better part of the day. But it was a fine gift, more than enough for a full suit of armour and worth as much as a small estate.
He'd had Piro say the words over the beasts' bodies to safely release their Affinity. It was the best he could do without an Affinity warder and it meant that Florin and Leif could take the pelts and sell them, a windfall for their family.
'Ready?' Orrade asked.
Byren nodded and skated over to the snowy beach where Florin and Leif waited to say goodbye. 'We'll be off. Thanks for the loan of the sled and skates.'
Leif surprised Byren by throwing his arms around his waist.
'Next litter Queenie has, I'm going to call the biggest one Byren,' he said.
'A wolfhound named after you, now that's an honour!' Orrade said with only the merest suggestion of a twinkle in his black eyes.
Piro laughed and hugged Florin, then disentangled Leif from Byren to hug the boy.
Byren faced Florin. Standing on the beach which was higher than the ice, she was as tall as him. It was a funny feeling, looking her straight in the eye. The pink glow of the setting sun illuminated her skin and he realised what a striking young woman she was. He cleared his throat. 'We owe you our lives — '
'And we owe you ours,' she said, meeting his gaze.
He was used to girls who blushed and cast him shy glances, or ones who sent him bold looks that left nothing to the imagination. He didn't know how to take a girl who held his eyes like an equal, like a man.
It made no sense unless… Florin was like Orrade. Of course. It was whispered that the nuns of Sylion turned to each other for comfort. Not that he could see anything wrong with that. In fact, it seemed only natural. Women were so lovely, after all. Heat raced through his body. He felt himself harden and was grateful for the thigh-length coat.
'Why are you looking at me like that?' Florin asked. 'Do I have dirt on my face?'
Startled, Byren's gaze slid past her as his heart thumped uncomfortably. He took in the steep cliff behind her and said the first thing that came into his head. 'Reckon I'll have to come back this summer and see if I can climb that cliff without a rope.'
Florin snorted. 'If I can't, no man can.'
'Ah,' he grinned. 'But I'm no ordinary man.'
Orrade and Garzik laughed outright and, after a moment, Florin joined them.
Byren set off with laughter ringing in his ears. He strained against the sled's harness to get the load moving. The metal blades groaned on the ice and began to shift. Orrade and Garzik wore the other two harnesses. Only Piro skated free, gliding ahead of them and circling back, graceful as a bird on the wing.
By full dark they'd made good time and were already out of the bend of Sapphire Lake.
Even though the ache in his shoulders told him it would be hard to get the sled moving when they started up again, Byren called for a break.
'We'll eat and skate by starlight until we have to rest,' he announced.
No one complained. No one asked why they were in a rush. He wondered if Orrade had discussed things with his brother.
While they undid the harnesses, Piro unpacked the food Florin had given them. Fresh-baked bread, preserves and smoked ham. They perched on the sled frame to give their thigh muscles a rest.
'I've been thinking, Byren,' Piro announced, finishing her food and slipping off the frame to glide around to face him. Enough starlight reflected from the ice to illuminate her serious face in shades of silver.
Byren swallowed. 'And?'
'The only way Cobalt could've lured the manticore pride close enough to turn them loose on us, was if he had Affinity.'
Byren felt the smile slip from his face. Though he'd come to the same conclusion, he hadn't expected Piro to put all the pieces together. He'd underestimated her.
Orrade sent him a wry look. Byren acknowledged it and indicated Piro was to go on.
'As I see it, you have to get back to Rolenhold and discredit Cobalt before Lence can accuse you.' She paused, watching to see if he'd object.
'Keep talking.'
'The manticore chitin is to put Father in a good mood, right?'
'It's worth a small fortune and not even the warlord of Manticore Spar has a whole suit of armour. So, yes, it should impress Father.'
She nodded. 'You'll give it to him, then accuse Cobalt of — '
'Setting the manticores on us? There's no proof.'
'No, of having Affinity. Father will send for the warder and wardess. They'll test him and Father will have to banish him, or send him to the abbey. Either way, he won't be able to cause any more trouble.'
'And what of Lence's accusation?'
Piro tilted her head. Byren waited for her to go on.
'Lence doesn't have a shred of proof and all you've ever done is serve Rolencia loyally. If he arrives to find Cobalt discredited, he may not even accuse you.'
'He could have proof,' Orrade objected. 'Fabricated by Cobalt.'
Of course. Why hadn't he thought of that? No wonder Lence had believed the worst. Relief made Byren laugh.
'What?' Orrade demanded.
He grabbed Orrade and planted a kiss on his cheek. 'Thank you!'
Orrade blinked, stunned.
Byren laughed again, stood up and turned on his skate blades to face his friend. 'I've been walking around feeling sick to my stomach because I couldn't believe Lence would turn on me. Now you've just explained it. Cobalt must have convinced him with a forgery of some kind, or with a servant paid to lie. All I have to do is discredit Cobalt and Lence will see reason!'