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I stared blindly at those beaming faces outside and wanted to laugh and cry at once.
‘Let’s go down,’ Rosalind said, a soft hand on my shoulder. ‘I imagine some people are waiting to hear from us.’
Yes.
Armies needed symbols, after all.
‘Let’s get our bags,’ I said, irrationally eager to delay the moment another two minutes.
So we got our bags and then left our wing of the building, venturing into the chaos that had taken hold of the White Hall. Past the panicked clerks, who were frantically browsing lawbooks and shrieking things about principles of self-determination; past tense flocks of guards, who paced the halls in their pristine white uniforms and toyed with their swords. No one quite seemed to know what to do with us. Most people seemed wary of even meeting our gaze as we passed their offices – as if it was some mind-clouding spell, that eagerness to go out and fight, and they too might just jump to leave their spouses and children the moment our eyes found each other.
Far too soon, we’d reached the last broad flight of stairs.
Two men stood in the middle of the hall below, surrounded by a few dozen guards as they gesticulated wildly at each other – white robes, red faces. Norris and Halbert.
The former looked close to tears. The latter looked closer to an exploding stove than I’d thought any healthy human being could possibly look.
‘… can’t possiblyletthem!’ he was snapping, his fists balled. ‘What for the gods’ sakes is a human citizen’s business on a magical battlefield? They’re barely trained to fight. They have no idea what they’re in for. If we see a quarter of them back alive, I’ll consider it a positive surprise, for the bloody gods’ sakes!’
‘Look, youknowI agree with you,’ Norris hissed loudly, his broad chest heaving – and for a single flinching moment, I found myself agreeing, too. ‘But they’re grown adults, aren’t they? We don’t have any laws to stop them, and as long as the third consul hasn’t been elected, we can’tmakeany laws either …'
It was then that they simultaneously noticed us.
Norris grew even redder. Halbert, on the other hand, paled to a rather unflattering shade of grey at the sight of Rosalind – the look of a man who knows himself defeated by an opponent he considers decidedly beneath him.
‘You!’ he bit out, and that one word contained half a decade of mutual loathing.
‘Morning, colleagues,’ Rosalind said coolly, and although she looked perfectly unflappable, the hint of sharpness below the surface was unmistakable. ‘Interesting developments, aren’t they? Is there any reason why we shouldn’t go out and have a word with the people waiting for us, from a perspective of general security?’
‘Security?’ Halbert spat, jutting a sharp, trembling finger at her. ‘Security, Rosalind?’
She arched up a single elegant eyebrow. ‘Do you take issue with the concept?’
‘You’ll murder them, youwitch!’ Droplets of spittle were flying out with the words, landing on the empty battlefield between us. ‘Is your pride worth that much? Two thousand people out there, and you’ll lure them all to a senseless death with your lies and your … your …’
‘My leg-spreading?’ she dryly suggested.
Halbert glared at me, then saw the dagger in my hand and gulped.
‘Odd as the notion may sound to you,’ Rosalind added, smiling even more icily, ‘some people have principles for which they are willing to make sacrifices. If you are determined they need their minds changed, you’re free to make an attempt yourself, of course.’
Halbert turned purple.
‘He tried to speak to them,’ Norris whispered from behind his hand, as if his colleague wouldn’t notice. ‘Theylaughed.’
Despite myself, I had to suppress a snigger at that.
‘Did they?’ Rosalind said, lips twisting. ‘Well, that quite settles the matter, doesn’t it? In that case— Oh, Delwin!’
We all whipped around just in time to see Delwin slip in through the high front gate and shut it behind his back again. There was a grimness to his expression that told meheknew exactly what the crowd outside was headed towards, but all he said was, ‘I’ve given my people orders to clear the route to the city gate. Don’t want any bystanders caught up in the masses.’
‘Clear the route?’ Halbert burst out, striding towards the guardmaster with long, snappish steps. ‘Without asking the consulate beforehand? Have you gone insane? We’re not going tohelpthem leave or pretend their governmentagreeswith this absurdity – reverse that order right now and then—’
‘Ah,’ Delwin politely interrupted, hands behind his back. ‘No.’
Halbert faltered. ‘What?’
At my side, Rosalind swallowed an audible giggle. I stared at Delwin’s long, melancholic face, now graced by just a hint of a smile, and suddenly realised what was about to happen.
