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After tugging off his blood-stained gloves, he stuffed theers were caked with dirt But his s to see She wanted to touch hiulfed her and she bit her tongue to keep fro

"Have you heard the news, Lia?" he asked her, his s

"What is it?" she said, thrilled to see hi

He shook his head, as if it were too delicious to speak "The old king is dead His son and heir was captured on the field They are already calling hiht now I just came from there myself Demont is declared Lord Protector of the real the collar and its jeweled syht-ht-maston of the order of Winterrowd The earldoranted in a ceremony soon Lia – I never believed…I never hoped…it feels like a dream That I will awaken and it is dawn and the battle has not happened yet Is it…is it real?"

She wanted hi her, but he did not She s of disappointment "Must I now call you Sir Colvin? And curtsy when I see you?"

His smile did not dim "No, Lia Never The Medium spared my life because of you My doubts would have killed ht on you" He looked around, as if realizing they were standing in the middle of death itself "Come – this is no place for you Walk with me back to my tent and hide that orb Come, take my arm Cover your head with the cowl and try not to look It is a grisly scene"

He led her back through the failinglast night about the i around the rear I warned De ould be aood favor at that dark hour When the riders appeared, there were only a few and they ca to join our force I think they were there to stab Demont One offered to show him his hand, which is a ritual mastons do to prove one another, but Demont asked to see his chaen shirt instead Thea medallion and his skin was tainted by its brand When they saw they could not deceive us, they tried to fight their way clear, but we easily mastered them and learned of others in the woods and captured theh the muddy field and towards the canopy of pavilions she had watched the night before It was the king’s pavilions, with pennants and poles and the battle flags of fallen foes asseether

"Demont knew our trouble, that if ere attacked on all sides while facing the king’s army, he kneould be overrun In that hour, he remembered a tactic he had learned from his father A tactic he had discussed at the battle of Maseve, but did not feel confident enough to try Demont believed that his father had failed that day because he did not trust the inspiration from the Medium The tactic is called a shiltron square – you use pikes and spears in a tight box That way, you can repel the attack froe Standing fast when knights are charging you with lances is not easy It helped offset their nu"

He guided her around the twisted rerimace "The Mediuht Lia – none of theh s I had never dreamed of It protected ht She wanted to tell hi kept her silent

They reached the curtain of pavilions and Colvin led her to one of the ss, richly furnished inside with rugs, a table, candles, and a pallet to sleep on, cloaked with fur-lined blankets The smell of tallow overwhelmed the stench of the field beyond

"You must be tired, Lia There – rest on my pallet There is food on the table and drink I will send a horseman to Muirwood to tell the Aldermaston you are safe If he will not take you back, then I will make sure you are cared for, even if I , staring at her pointedly "And you will read, Lia Even if I must teach you myself Get some rest There is much to be done today"

"Send a horseman to Billerbeck Abbey as well," Lia told him "Tell your sister you are safe as well Tell her what you could not tell her before"