The King's Name (43 page)

"I'm glad you love him," I said calmly. "He loves you, too. He was very distressed when Garah told us what had happened to you. He knew straightaway that Morthu had bewitched you."

"I always thought he was Urdo's son," she said.

"You know, when it comes to believing Morthu's lies, I think he's contradicted himself there,"

Emer said. "If

Darien isn't Urdo's son, then Sulien isn't Urdo's leman. The two things can't both be true."

Elenn thought about this for a moment, and then smiled. I suddenly saw what Emer meant about her shell cracking. Every other smile I had seen on her face was suddenly revealed as controlled and deliberate, compared to this one which seemed as if it could crack her face. I wished Urdo could have seen it. She took three steps forward and, still in her shift, jumped into the water, between me and Emer, sending splashes right across the room. She looked the least beautiful I had ever seen her, and the most human. "The truth comes clear at last,"

she said, and embraced Emer. Then, after a little hesitation, she embraced me. I embraced her back. Oh well, I thought, feeling old, it is the truth now.

—26—

As for sorcery, any that are convicted of it shall suffer death. And any who teach sorcery or offer to teach sorcery to another, or any oracle-craft, shall suffer death, that the knowledge of it may pass away entirely.

—Vincan Law

When we gathered in the central courtyard for the coronation and trial the next morning, Elenn was dressed in green and gold, and her face was as beautiful and unreadable as ever. Her
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midnight black hair was brushed and shining in the sunshine but left to fall loose on her shoulders. Seeing this, I took off my helmet and shook out my own hair. Alswith, waiting beside me, with the other kings, looked at me curiously.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I am letting my hair loose for mourning," I said.

"Don't you usually cut it?" she asked, frowning a little.

"That is the Vincan way," I said. "We cut our hair short and cast it on the pyre, and the time it takes to regrow marks the time of mourning. After Foreth, Galba's whole ala cut their hair. I have always cut mine before, but there hasn't been time. Seeing Elenn like that, it seemed like the right thing to do it the Tanagan way now."

"Do you think I should let mine loose?" she asked. Behind her head, which was wrapped in a grey scarf, I

saw Veniva coming out into the courtyard, bringing the boys. Glividen intercepted her and started to ask her something. Gwien started jumping from foot to foot on the cobbles, then stopped and stood sword

blade-straight at a word from his grandmother.

"You did at Agned," I said. "What is the Jarnish custom?"

"Baring your head is usually a sign of surrender," she said.

"Women are supposed to surrender only to their husbands, that's why all the veils and cloth.

For mourning we wear dark colors."

"Nobody thought you were surrendering at Agned," I said.

"I meant it for defiance, as well as mourning," she admitted. "I was surrendering to fate, to death that had come from nowhere to take ap Erbin like that. If he had been killed in the ordinary chance of battle I wouldn't have been so angry and led the ala back like that."

"You destroyed the war machines," I said. "I don't think anyone saw it as surrender. For that matter, I've seen plenty of Jarnish farmers with bare heads." Off on the other side I saw Thurrig and Amala engaged in a furious debate, with much arm waving. Amala seemed to be getting the best of it, but Thurrig was smiling.

"They have surrendered to their masters," she said, and shrugged. "It doesn't make sense when you think about it, especially here where they needn't have a master except the king. Most of the farmers in Nene are like that." Elenn walked over to stand on the turf almost directly opposite me, next to Mother Teilo and Raul and a little knot of other priests of the White God. I looked for Emer, and saw her in the crowd, with his.

"They'll be so delighted to have you instead of Cinon that they won't mind about you being a woman," I said reassuringly. I hoped Flavien couldn't hear. He was right at the other end of the space marked out for the kings, talking to Rowanna. The courtyard was a mixture of organized and disorganized bustle.

Alswith bit her lip. "The Jarnish ones, I hope so," she said. "It is the Tanagan ones who felt like Cinon and who are still alive that will be the problem. It's going to be so hard. I miss ap Erbin every minute. He used to say he was getting old and fat and no fun anymore, and I would tease him, and now he's dead. I can't even take time to mourn him properly because I have all this responsibility and work to do, and I won't even be going home, but to Caer Rangor."

"It's hard work being a king," I agreed.

"I feel like I shouldn't be standing here, but lined up over there with the alae," she said, gesturing.

"Me, too," I admitted. Govien had Galba's ala under control. My ala, Urdo's Own Ala, looked very understrength. They had lost yet another decurio yesterday. Darien would have to give a lot of attention to getting them back to the force that they had been. Elwith stood in the praefecto's place, looking a little apprehensive, the way everyone is when they start. She kept straightening her oak-leaf cloak as if she couldn't believe it really
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belonged to her.

"And there are the children, too," she said. "And all these people in Nene who don't know me.

Alfwin said I

should rule for Harald, but Darien said I could rule in my own name, and Harald after me."

"I think you should let your hair loose," I said. "You are standing here for Nene, and Nene is a mixed kingdom. You are Jarnish in blood but your son is of both people, and you mean to be king of both people."

She raised her hands and unwound the cloth and shook her hair free.

Gorai came out of the doors, walking with his aunt Linwen and Bishop Dewin. He bowed to them, clearly making farewells. They walked across to stand by Raul. Gorai came on past Glividen, who seemed at last ready to let Veniva go. As he went past Luth's ala, his uncle Aneirin ap Erbin hailed him, and they spoke for a few moments, before Aneirin clapped him on the back and let him come on.

"It's clear to see where that young man is going to get his advice," Alswith said approvingly.

"Do you like Aneirin?" I asked.

"He's far and away the best of the whole family, apart from my ap Erbin, of course," she said.

"There's more to him than his songs, though they are very good songs."

Gorai came up to us then, and we bowed and made him welcome. I was very glad of his presence a moment later when Veniva brought my nephews up. He was only a year older than Galbian, and they found much to talk about together. I did not then guess that that was to be the beginning of a friendship and alliance in

Council that would last until their deaths, and even beyond, since Galbian's daughter Veniva married Gorai's son Cledwin. Then I was only glad that they occupied each other. I noticed Glividen standing talking to Inis, waving his arms about.

"What did Glividen want?" I asked Veniva.

"More nonsense about the heating system of the citadel running underneath here. I told him Garah had come up through it yesterday so it must have been clear then.,He gave me a long explanation of how it worked. He says the ducts run under where we are standing."

"You were stopped a long time, for that," I said. Inis had called to Teilo, and she came up to them. Glividen was still gesturing, and Teilo seemed to be trying to calm both of them down. I wished her luck.

"I was telling him about Ninian," Veniva admitted.

"Where is she?" I asked.

Veniva looked around, then back. She would never even consider doing anything as vulgar as pointing.

"There, near Atha, with Angas and her grandmother Ninian. She is wearing a scarf on her head, so you can't see, but her hair is red." I looked. As far as I could tell she looked like a sensible girl. She was tall and slim;

she would not have had the weight to be an armiger. I hoped Darien liked her.

The trumpets blew then, warning us that Darien was about to come out.

Veniva went to stand with Emer and Inis. Angas came hurrying over and took his place.

"Some people said Darien should have waited until all the kings could be here," Gorai said.

"Who isn't here?" Galbian asked.

"Glyn of Bregheda, and Anlaf Alfwinsson, Ohtar's heir of Bereich," Gorai said. "And some are here, but their heirs are not."

"The kings of the north who could not come so far so fast will swear to the High King when next they are in

Caer Tanaga," I said. We had spent a long time discussing this. If either of them had been less sure allies it might have been worth delaying. As it was, we had most of the kings here already,
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and as Darien insisted, a formal oathtaking in Caer Tanaga such as Urdo had taken at the beginning of his reign was a good way to affirm the Peace. Everything was arranged the same way. It made everything feel connected at root when I

thought that I was standing where my father had stood with my brother Darien to make his oath to Urdo.

Only Rowanna had been here for the last coronation, and stood then where she stood now, upright and alone.

Tereg was standing where Uthbad would have stood. The elder Cinon had stood where Alswith was standing now. He might have been here then as his father's heir, I didn't know. Duke Galba would have stood where

Galbian was, and on my other side there would have been nobody. I turned my head. Alfwin bowed a little.

Sidrok was smirking, but stepped away when I looked hard at him. He was not half the man his brother was.

He would not have killed Ayl himself, but he was clearly delighted he was dead. He had Ayl's son Trumwin with him, who was ten years old. He began to smile at me before he remembered that I had killed his father, then he looked away with dignity. Hengist Guthrumsson stood next. I could not remember if his father had taken oath to Urdo at his coronation or later. Ohtar would have taken the end place, or his grandson Anlaf Alfwinsson, if he had been here. I wondered what had become of Walbern.

There was another blast of trumpets followed by a hush as Darien came out. He was wearing the dark blue drape he had worn for the feast before the battle. He had the gold tore around his neck, and Ulf's armring on his arm. The drape was pinned with my brooch from the hoard of Derwen—this time I had insisted. He came forward in silence with the crown in his hands.

He walked straight up the clear strip of turf between the crowds until he stood on the stone under the oak, the Stone of the Kingdom in the central courtyard of Caer Tanaga, the heart of the High Kingdom.

He crowned himself then in the words and form that Urdo had used, and Avren, and Emrys, but naming the

White God as witness and overseer of his oath and his marriage to die land. I looked over at Veniva, who was smiling with tears in her eyes. She and Raul had spent half the night working out the exact words of the oath.

When it was done the kings and kings' heirs all went up and made our coronation oaths. It was a renewal for me, but a fresh oath for the others. After the oaths, Darien embraced the kings as they rose. He barely touched Angas, but his hug for me was real and warm. Then Darien walked down to the alae, and each ala made their oath together, each armiger naming whatever gods they would and Darien welcoming them in the name of the White God. When that was done he turned to the people, who were packed in down the long colonade, as many of them as could squeeze in. They gave a great cheer, and the rest of us joined in.

Then Darien spoke for a little while about the Council, about the Law, and the Peace. We cheered whenever he paused. At last he came around to Morthu. "He will be brought before me and tried," Darien said. Those of us who had brought weapons for the coronation took them off for the trial, and there was a general shuffling as

people took then-weapons to the weapon room and came back. Darien gave his sword to ap Caw to take to safety; the old groom walked as proudly as if he was carrying a baby.

Another hush fell. Darien walked back to the stone. Inis came out of the crowd and began sprinkling water everywhere and chanting his charm against sorcery. Bishop Dewin pursed his lips disapprovingly, but nobody left. He stopped here and there and poked at the holes which were the vents for the heating system. I

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wondered if they had such things in Oriel and if he was confused by them.

After a little while, two guards brought Morthu out, walking between them. He paced up very deliberately over the grass until he was directly opposite where the kings stood. He was wearing the armor of an armiger. I

wondered who had given it to him. Maybe it was the only thing that would fit him. The guards walked back away from him, leaving him alone in the center.

"Who accuses me, on what charge?" he asked, sounding like a prince who had been wronged.

"I, Darien ap Urdo of the House of Emrys, High King of Tir Tanagiri, accuse you, Morthu ap Talorgen, of black sorcery and seditious treachery."

"What right have you to that name?" Morthu asked. "Your mother was not married to your father, and who is to say who your father is? Will she come and swear to it before the gods?"

I thought for a moment that he had cast the spell on me to make my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, for I could not speak. There was an indrawn breath among the kings around me, and many of them glanced at me.

Then Darien laughed. "Here we see an example of the sedition I spoke of, from your own mouth," he said. "It is no news that my mother has never been married to my father, but likewise it is no news that they were lovers at Caer Glo-ran before my birth, that my father has acknowledged me his son all my life, and that he proclaimed me his heir before gods, princes, and people on the field of Agned as he lay dying. Nor has my mother's name ever been linked with another man, in all her life. Yet, if you like it better, I will call myself Darien Suliensson, for that is the name my father used when he proclaimed me his heir, and in that name I