Chapter 6

Perhaps the knights knewwhere Tovin would be spending the night, or at least suspected. Maybe sending the page was nothing but a little joke designed to interrupt the lovers…

Well, it worked.He pulled the ties of his robe tighter around his waist; let the knights have their laugh—he would have words with Giles in the morning. “Tonight I see no one, do you hear?”

The boy nodded. As Amery started to close the door, he stopped himself and added, “No one. I don’t even care if the Cyrians attack—they’ll wait until dawn. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the page said quickly. “I’ll see to it you aren’t disturbed.”

“Too late,” Amery told him. “Make sure it doesn’t happen a second time or I’ll have you demoted to scrubbing out the garderobes.”

The boy nodded again, and stepped back as if afraid Amery would snatch him to clean his own latrine this evening. “Yes, Your Highness.”