Page 94 (1/1)
"You have news, Lord Bryne?" she asked, stifling hope She could think of a dozen possible ht, each with its own set of pitfalls and snares Had Rand decided to add more crowns to that of Illian, or the Seanchan somehow captured still another city, or the Band of the Red Hand suddenlythe Aes Sedai, or
"An arauntleted hands rested lightly atop his long sword hilt An army to the north, a little oodly nuht the news less than an hour ago Pelivar leads, and Arathelle is with hiest Houses in Andor, and they’ve brought twentysouth hard, it seeainst, we should wene kept her face s for, waiting for; what she had begun to fear asped, and clapped a mittened hand over her mouth too late Bryne cocked at eyebrow at her, but she recovered quickly, putting on Aes Sedai serenity so thick you alhting your fellow Andorans?" she demanded "Speak up, man I’m not your oman here" Well, there was a small crack in that serenity
"As you command, Siuan Sedai" Bryne’s tone held no scrap of hten, her outward coolness evaporating fast He ht whoever the Mother wishes ht, of course" Even here, he would not beMen learned caution around Aes Sedai So did woht caution had become a second skin for her
"And if we don’t keep on?" she said So , just her and Siuan and sometimes Leane, and now she still had to feel out each step as carefully as on those icy paths outside "If we stop here?"
He did not hesitate "If you have a way to bring theood, but some time tomorrow they’ll reach an excellent position to defend, one flank held by the River Ar, and small streams in front to break up attacks Pelivar will settle in there to wait; he knows the work Arathelle will have her part if there’s talking, but she’ll leave the pikes and swords to him We can’t reach it ahead of him, and anyway, the terrain is no use to us there, with hi for that ridge we crossed two days back We can reach it in good order ahead of them if we start at dawn, and Pelivar would think twice about co at us there if he had three ti nearfrozen toes inside her stockings, Egwene let out an annoyed sigh There was a difference between not letting cold touch you and not feeling it Picking her way carefully, not letting herself be distracted by the chill, she asked, "Will they talk, offered the chance?"
"Probably, Mother The Murandians hardly count; they’re just there for whatever advantage they can wring out of the situation, same as their countrymen under er, I’d say they only riht if they have to, if theyAes Sedai instead of just soldiers I expect they’ve heard the same tales we have about that battle out east somewhere"
"Fish guts!" Siuan growled So ossip are no proof there was any battle, you luotten themselves mixed up in it!" The ely, Bryne smiled He often did when Siuan showed her teould have called the smile fond "Better for us if they believe," he told Siuan ht he had sneered at her
Why did a noret under her skin? Whatever the reason, Egwene had no tiot to take away the mulled wine It can’t have soured in this weather War the other woman down in front of Bryne, but she had to be reined in, and this seeentlest way to do it Really, they should not have left the silver pitcher on her table
Siuan did not quite flinch, but from her stricken expression, quickly smoothed over, you would never have believed she washed the htly to reheat the wine in the silver pitcher, quickly filled two clean workedsilver cups, and handed the first to Egwene She kept the second, staring at Lord Bryne as she sipped and leaving hiers on her own cup, Egwene felt a flash of irritation Maybe it was part of Siuan’s longdelayed reaction to the death of her Warder She still becah she tried to hide it Egwene put the ht, that was an anthill beside mountains
"I want to avoid a battle if I can, Lord Bryne The are aas soon as possible for the Amyrlin Seat with Lord Pelivar and Lady Arathelle and anyone else you think you should be present Not here Our ragged camp won’t impress them very much As soon as possible, mind I wouldn’t object to toe, Mother," he said mildly "If I send riders out as soon as I return to camp, I doubt they can be back with an answer est you return quickly" Light, but her hands and feet felt cold And the pit of her stomach, too But her voice kept its cal, and the existence of their ar as possible"
This tireat a risk as she did Gareth Bryne was one of the best generals living, but the Hall chafed that he did not run the arrateful for his na, for it helped draw soldiers to their cause Now the ar even since the snows had started, and they thought that er And of course, there were those who believed they never had needed him They would not siht well go to