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Sturrily

"No, Tolya, your gifts lie elsewhere," Sturly "Mostly in the celebrated fields of killing andto adapt to the jarring experience of Stur from a different person’s nize me He hasn’t seenI wanted to chance"

"Who are you?" Mal asked furiously

"That’s a cohtforward," I said, springing toyou seehly incapable of"

"Oh, I can do it," Stur water froood at it"

"Stur on him "You have exactly ten seconds to explain yourself, or Tolya’s going to have to make you a whole new face"

Then Ta"

We all quieted, listening The sounds ca the lake: hoofbeats--lots of them, the snap and rustle of broken branches as roaned "I knee’d been sighted We spent too long on the Fold" He heaved a ragged sigh "A wrecked ship and a crew that looks like a bunch of drowned possums This is not what I had in mind"

I wanted to know exactly what he did have in mind, but there was no tiroup of ed onto the beach Ten … twenty … thirty soldiers of the First Ar’s men, heavily arhter of the volcra and the crash, I didn’t think I had any fear left, but I rong Panic shot throughhis post Were we about to be arrested as traitors? My fingers twitched I wasn’t going to be taken prisoner again

"Easy, Summoner," the privateer whispered "Letelse so well, Sturht be wise if you didn’t call me that for a while"

"And why is that?" I bit out

"Because it’s not my name"

The soldiers cantered to a halt in front of us, thecaptain drew his blade "In the na of Ravka, thron your ar himself between the eneesture of surrender "Our weapons are at the botto what I did of both Sturmhond and the twins, I seriously doubted that

"State your na captain

Slowly, Sturreatcoat from his shoulders and handed it to Tolya

An uneasy stir went through the line of soldiers Sturh to the skin, but there was nothe olive drab and brass buttons of the Ravkan First Arle that indicated an officer’s rank What gah the lines, wheeling his horse around to confront Sturnized Colonel Raevsky, the commander of the military encampment at Kribirsk Had we crashed so close to town? Was that how the soldiers had gotten here so quickly?

"Explain yourself, boy!" the colonel commanded "State your name and business before I have you stripped of that uniforh tree"

Sturmhond seemed unconcerned When he spoke, his voice had a quality I’d never heard in it before "I ai’s Army, Grand Duke of Udova, and second son to His Most Royal Majesty, King Alexander the Third, Ruler of the Double Eagle Throne, "

My jaw dropped Shock passed like a wave through the row of soldiers A nervous titter rose from somewhere in the ranks I didn’t knohat joke this , but Raevsky did not look a the reins to a soldier

"You listen to me, you disrespectful whelp," he said, his hand already on the hilt of his sword, his weathered features set in lines of fury as he strode directly up to Sturmhond "Nikolai Lantsov served under me on the northern border and…"

His voice faded away He was nose to nose with the privateer now, but Sturmhond did not blink The colonel opened his mouth, then closed it He took a step back and scanned Sture fronition

Abruptly, he dropped to one knee and bent his head

"Forgive round before hilances

Sturmhond turned a cold and expectant eye on theh the ranks Then, one by one, they slipped from their horses and dropped to their knees, heads bent

Oh, Saints

"You’ve got to be kiddingI wore the scales of a slain ice dragon around my wrist I’d seen an entire city sed by darkness But this was the strangest thing I’d ever witnessed It had to be another one of Sturet us all killed

I stared at the privateer Was it even possible? I couldn’t seeet my mind to work I was too exhausted, too drained from fear and panic I scoured ’s two sons I’d er son hadn’t been seen at court in years He was supposed to be off so

Or maybe he had done both

I felt dizzy Sobachka, Genya had called the prince Puppy He insisted on doing his military service in the infantry

Sturmhond Storm hound Wolf of the Waves

Sobachka It couldn’t be It just couldn’t