It was a white rose.
*
Two hours after dawn Ananais returned to the campsite, bringing with him Valtaya, Scaler and Belder. Tenaka watched them approach. The older man, he could see, was a veteran who moved carefully, hand on sword-hilt. The woman was tall and well-made and she stayed close to the black-garbed Ananais. Tenaka grinned and shook his head. Still the Golden One, he thought. But the young man was interesting. There was about him something familiar, yet Tenaka was sure they had never met. Athletic and tall, clear-eyed and handsome, his long dark hair was held in place by a black metal circlet adorned with an opal at the centre. He wore a leaf-green cloak and calf-length brown walking boots. His tunic was of soft leather and he carried a shortsword in his hand. Tenaka sensed his fear.
He stepped from the trees to greet them.
Scaler looked up as he appeared. He wanted to rush forward and embrace him, but resisted the urge. Tenaka would never recognise him. The Nadir prince had changed little, he thought, save for the few grey hairs glinting in the sunlight. The violet eyes were still piercing, the stance still unconsciously arrogant.
‘You cannot resist surprises, my friend,’ said Tenaka.
‘So true,’ answered Ananais. ‘But I have breakfast in the pack, and explanations can wait until I have eaten.’
‘Introductions cannot,’ said Tenaka softly.
‘Scaler, Valtaya and Belder,’ said Ananais, waving an arm at the trio. With that he strode past Tenaka and on towards the fire.
‘Welcome!’ said Tenaka lamely, spreading his hands.
Scaler walked forward. ‘Our presence in your camp is temporary,’ he said. ‘Your friend helped Valtaya and it was vital that we left the city. Now that she is safe, we shall return.’
‘I see. Join us for food first,’ offered Tenaka.
The silence around the fire was uncomfortable, but Ananais ignored it, taking his food to the edge of the trees and sitting with his back to the group so that he could remove his mask and eat.
‘I have heard much of you, Tenaka,’ said Valtaya.
He turned to her. ‘Much of what people say is untrue.’
‘There is always a grain of truth at the centre of such sagas.’
‘Perhaps. Where did you hear the stories?’
‘From Scaler,’ she replied. Tenaka nodded and turned to the young man, who was blushing furiously.
‘And where did you hear them, my friend?’
‘Here and there,’ replied Scaler.
‘I was a soldier. Nothing more. My ancestry gave me fame. I could name many better swordsmen, better riders, better men. But they had no name to carry before them like a banner.’
‘You are too modest,’ said Scaler.
‘It is not a question of modesty. I am half-Nadir of the line of Ulric and half-Drenai. My great-grandfather was Regnak, the Earl of Bronze. And yet I am neither Earl nor Khan.’
‘The Khan of Shadows,’ said Scaler.
‘How did such a thing come about?’ asked Valtaya.
Tenaka grinned. ‘It was the Second Nadir War and Regnak’s son Orrin made a treaty with the Nadir. Part of the price was that his son, Hogun, should marry the Khan’s daughter, Shillat. It was not a marriage of love. It was a grand ceremony, I am told, and the union was consummated near the Shrine of Druss on the northern plain before Delnoch. Hogun took his bride back to the fortress, where she dwelt unhappily for three years. I was born there. Hogun died in a riding accident when I was two and his father sent Shillat home. It was written into the marriage contract that no child of the union could inherit Dros Delnoch. And as for the Nadir, they desired no half-breed to lead them.’
‘You must have been very unhappy,’ said Valtaya.
‘I have known great joys in my life. Do not feel pity for me, lady.’
‘How did you come to be a Dragon general?’
‘I was sixteen when the Khan, my grandfather, sent me to Delnoch. Again it was part of the marriage contract. My other grandfather was there to greet me. He told me he had arranged a commission in the Dragon. It is that simple!’