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"Did you actually kill King Elkorios of Saro-Urok? With your own hand?"
"I did For iven the fine and eneral so they wouldn’t have to say that a noble king was killed by a lowly foot soldier Immediately afterward I was relieved of command and replaced by officers of Saroese ancestry So and inexperienced as Kalliarkos here"
"But you were fortunate to be in the arn He said yours was the first co’s arn of Kliatemnos the Fourth, Efeans were not allowed to serve in the military"
It seeeous e the subject "Father often spoke of your company’s bravery and skill My mother liked to hear of your exploits"
"Did she?" His features are obscured by night, but I sense he is suddenly fascinated "We all knew of her Not because Captain Esladas spoke of her--he never did--but because we all kneas living with an Efean wohters and no sons It is a measure of his skill as a coher-born Patron n of weakness but we Efean soldiers knew it for a sign of strength that he kept faith with a woman he cared for"
"Until ambition poisoned him," I mutter
Inarsis replies in a low voice, "Sometimes in battle a man must choose between two bad outcomes Please do not think your father had a choice once Garon Palace became involved I am sure it pained him deeply to set her aside"
I do not want his syet what I need The quaver inof truth "I asked Lord Kalliarkos to sneak me in to see my father so that I can tell him I have passed muster and will train as an adversary in the Garon Stable"
"I am sure General Esladas knows that already," remarks Thynos
"Not from my lips," I say "Please, Lord Thynos General Inarsis Just this one favor"
By noe’ve left the encah land divided into fields with a network of canals Burning lanterns recede before and behind us like ge on a wire necklace The beauty of the lit road catches in hts could lead to triumph or disaster Yet I can’t truly appreciate the scene as I sit poised to bolt and run if the haest time no one speaks
Suddenly Thynos taps Kalliarkos on the shoulder "The twin sycamores rove and cousts out ofin relief "Thank you," I e off the main road and onto a hard-packed earth track In the distance a firefly string of lights h square fields of barley and wheat A cluster of lights reveals the villa near the seashore
We cross four canals before we enter a village surrounded by syca, olive, and date trees The locals stare from their verandas Every house is connected to the others by raised ays The children run naked but their faces are clean, and the wo linen sheaths like mine while the men wear the short keldi that covers only froea path between vineyards, s out of pots to keep insects away Ahead rises an orchard, trees like persiht fro the thick pillars of date palives us a view of the villa Night makes it hard to see but by the way lamps are placed I can tell there is an outer and an inner cos, two squat towers, a garden, and a courtyard at the center of the sprawling house
"Now, Kal," begins Thynos, "here’s e’ll do"
Inarsis coughs "Perhaps you should let Lord Kalliarkos devise the plan"
"Here’s e’ll do," I interrupt "You three will attend the feast as expected I can easily get inside"
"Gar doesn’t allow Efean servants in Garon Palace," says Thynos
"I know that! I thought I would climb inside, if Lord Kalliarkos will explain the layout to me"
"You don’t need to," Kalliarkos interrupts "Out here in the country, we do use Efean servants, especially e need to hire in extra help froe for a feast like this one"