Free Fire and Sword by Simon Brown Page B

you there was a storm coming,” Ager said smugly.
    Kumul gave him a sour look. “Snow. That’s all we need. It’ll halve the clan’s pace.”
    “After all our rushing around in summer I thought you’d appreciate a more sedate pace.”
    “There are things to be done, and we can’t do them here.”
    “Lynan made a decision for himself,” Ager said gently. “It’s what we’ve always wanted him to do.”
    “It wasn’t just for himself,” Jenrosa pointed out. “He made a decision for all of us.”
    “He’s our prince,” Ager countered. “And now he’s our leader as well.”
    “He’ll be a damn sight more than a prince if this Chett queen has her way,” Kumul said.
    “What do you mean?” Jenrosa asked.
    Ager and Kumul exchanged quick glances. Ager nodded.
    “Korigan believes Lynan should seek the throne,” Kumul said stiffly.
    “I don’t understand. Why would Korigan want Lynan to become king of the Chetts?”
    “Not her throne,” Ager answered. “Korigan thinks Lynan should usurp Areava.”
    Jenrosa’s gray eyes widened in surprise. “Oh.”
    “And Kumul disagrees,” Ager finished.
    “And you?”
    Ager shrugged. “I don’t know anymore.”
    “You agreed with me the other night,” Kumul said.
    “I agreed with you about not going to the High Sooq. I said nothing one way or the other about Lynan taking the throne of Grenda Lear.”
    Kumul stared down at the ground. He seemed to draw in on himself. Jenrosa sat next to him. “Kumul, is there another way?”
    “What do you mean?” Kumul growled.
    “Can Lynan return to Kendra and take up where he left off? Is that possible?”
    “I don’t see why not. If we reveal Orkid and Dejanus as the murderers of Berayma, nothing can stop Lynan from resuming his position in the palace.”
    “And you will be constable again, and Ager a captain in the Royal Guard.”
    “And you back to your studies with the Theurgia of Stars. Yes. Isn’t that what we all want?”
    “Is that what you want, still?”
    “Yes.”
    “And what of Areava and the Twenty Houses?”
    “Areava’s not stupid. She will make up with Lynan. The Twenty Houses will do what they’re told.”
    “What if Lynan decides to go for the throne? Will you stop him?”
    Kumul looked up at Jenrosa, startled. “No. No, he wouldn’t do that.”
    “Lynan has changed. Ager said he has become a leader. Can he go to war against Areava and in the end not take the throne from her?”
    Kumul stood up quickly. “No. Lynan wouldn’t do that. I know him.”
    “You knew Lynan the boy,” Jenrosa said. “How sure can any of us be that we know Lynan the white wolf?”
    “White wolf?” Kumul barked. “Pah!”
    Jenrosa stood up, too. Kumul tried to avoid her gaze, but she reached out and held his jaw. “Have you been listening to the Chetts?” she said, her voice suddenly fierce. “They almost worship him, and he’s only been with them a short time. If he decides to go for the throne, and Korigan supports him, do you think the Chetts will hold back?”
    “He’ll need more than the Chetts to win the whole of Grenda Lear.”
    “Are you so sure?” Ager asked. “This is just one clan. Seven thousand warriors. How many clans did Gudon say there were? Seventeen major ones, at least.”
    “They are all horse archers,” Kumul said dismissively. “In the hills and fields and rivers in the east they would be trapped and slaughtered.”
    “Unless they’re trained to fight differently.”
    “Why should we train them? So Lynan can go after Areava’s crown?”
    “We were going to raise an army to force the issue anyway,” Ager argued.
    Kumul did not reply.
    “Weren’t we?” Ager insisted.
    “Yes.” Kumul had to squeeze out the word. His blue eyes glared at Ager.
    “And what were you going to do with the army?” Jenrosa asked him. She stood in front of him, feet firmly planted, arms akimbo, as if she was confronting a particularly stubborn mule.
    “Force Areava to submit,” he said