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If he laughs, she thought, I’ll strangle him
He merely indicated a neat semicircle of felt-covered pillows set in the center of the pavilion Prince Ekkehard and his felloere already seated there, trying to look as comfortable and relaxed as if they dined every day in the tent of their enemy, the man whom Bayan hated above all others in the whole orld Even Lord Welf, looking h he was pallid
"His Mightiness begs that you honor him with your presence, Honored One," said the interpreter to Hanna with considerably more politeness than he’d shown before "Now that the Cursed Ones have been driven off, there is ti"
"One wonders who it was lucky for," muttered Lord Benedict
"Those shades would probably have tracked us down and killed us if we hadn’t stumbled upon Prince Bulkezu," said Ekkehard crossly to his cole to sit with us as though she’s nobly born?"
"If I were you, my sweet prince," said the interpreter insolently, "I’d keep my mouth shut about her"
"Does Prince Bulkezu mean to take her as a concubine? I’ve seen prettier, but I suppose her hair is striking"
"You’re an ignorant young sot, aren’t you? Don’t you knohat she is?"
"She’s a da has honored her I recognize the ring on her hand, the e er yet"
"Or that he hasn’t cut off your head for your insolence," added Lord Frithuric
Prince Bulkezu cleared his throat suggestively as he ushered Hanna up to a pillow and, with the manners of a courtier, indicated a wine-colored pillow decorated with clashing eagles Once she sank down cross-legged, unco Wendish lords, Bulkezu placed hi vacant pillow, between Hanna and Ekkehard He clapped his hands, once, and his soldiers hurried to serve theree done to rese vines The cups were cruder, plain cerahed out loud when she breathed in the aro at her heart What had happened to Gotfrid and his fellows? Had they escaped, or did they lie dead in the snow?
But Gotfrid surely wouldn’t begrudge her a h Gotfrid would probably be the first to say that it orth enjoying what you had while you had it, since you didn’t kno quickly it ht be taken from you
As Bayan had said, no as ever lost if there was still wine to drink
Bulkezu examined her in the silence as they sipped their wine and nibbled on hard cakes flavored with coriander Truly, there was a war going on right now in more ways than one, and she didn’t suppose it would be over very quickly After all, despite their fear of the Kerayit, she was still his prisoner
A soldier entering carrying an odd-looking two-stringed lute He settled hi, nasal voice that droned on and on After a long while, he finished, and they were perraciously offered the use of Bulkezu’s furs, she took herself to the opposite wall of the tent, near the entrance, and wrapped herself tightly in her cloak She was so exhausted that she fell asleep at once
She woke to snoring Without raising her head or otherwise giving herself away, she studied the dark interior Prince Ekkehard and his coainly postures on the floor of the pavilion Each of the young lords had a partner in sleep, a Quman soldier at rest beside them, so that if their prisoner stirred, they would wake, too Only Hanna wasn’t guarded
OrIn the center of the pavilion, illu la frooldbraided pillow He had an easy posture, cross-legged, one elbow braced on a knee while the other fiddled with the stem of an elaborate ceramic pipe Steam bubbled up fro softly A veil of smoke hazed the air around him as he watched her Did he know she’d woken?
The strangely-scented ss and h the s above the ca with a faint golden ring of protection, and the other tents, ranged in a circle around it, seeical wards There stood the horses, restless in the cold night, and their stalwart guard To one side, unseen before, she noticed a corral and, within that fence, the patchwork cloak of the shaman He cooked lanced up, as if he sensed her But her awareness already ranged beyond hi trip lines laid high and low, and a pair of hawks perched on a branch, waiting for dawn