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young enough to recall how quickly one could turn from a youngster disinterested in anything but boyish pursuits into a young man whose every thought seemed to focus around women and enjoying them.
    Gavriel could almost yearn for that carefree way of even five anni previous but it was lost to him. And not just because of the toll of years; Loethar was stealing the Set’s future, might well steal their lives if he was gauging the mood of his father and the king correctly. The palace was preparing for siege, and the word was already going out that, impossible though it seemed, Barronel’s fall was now inevitable. Penraven’s people should flee, preferably via the sea, since Loethar had no ships, and no sailing prowess even if he could secure vessels. Penraven’s coastline was so vast that anyone who wanted to leave the realm could, finding safety in the Taramanian Isles to the west, or in the eastern kingdom of Galinsea.
    But there would be no escape for the De Vis brothers. The sovereign was counting on them to behave as men now; the innocence of childhood was a luxury long behind them.
    Leo leapt down from Gavriel’s shoulders, ignoring the hand of help. ‘Eat your pear,’ Gavriel said, crunching into his. He wondered how he was going to live up to the task asked of him by his king, but was quickly reminded of what had fallen on Corbel’s shoulders and shuddered. His brother’s task was far more daunting.
    ‘What do you mean?’ Leo asked.
    ‘What?’
    ‘You said you wondered how he could kill something so tiny.’
    Gavriel realised he must have spoken the final thought about his brother aloud. ‘Nothing. I don’t remember.’
    ‘You remember everything, Gav. Dates, debts, all sorts of facts.’
    ‘Quite. And speaking of debts, you owe me two trents.’
    ‘I haven’t forgotten. Where’s Corbel?’
    ‘Running an errand for our father,’ Gavriel answered, suddenly unable to swallow his mouthful of pear. He spat it out.
    ‘Worm?’
    ‘No, just suddenly tasted a bit acid.’
    ‘Mine’s sweet, just like Sarah Flarty’s backside,’ Leo said, then burst into laughter at Gavriel’s astonished expression. ‘Well, you told me so.’
    Gavriel sucked in a breath at the notion that he’d probably never pinch Sarah’s pert bottom again and her promised tumble in the hayloft was likely not to happen, now that he was a full-time babysitter to the crown prince. Every hour of the day you watch him, you guard him , his father had impressed after the king had told him what it was that they expected of Gavriel. He is never to be far from you. And when the time comes you must disappear with him. No farewells, no packing, no notes left behind. He is all that matters. Protect Leo with your life. Raise him .
    Raise him? He wasn’t ready to be a father figure. He wasn’t even sure he knew how to see to the boy’s needs for a full day. He often still felt like a child himself, usually deferring to Corb’s cunning. And now his brother was gone.
    ‘Did you see your sister?’ Gavriel asked, not meaning to ask something so blunt but needing the image of his brother close. How would they manage without each other?
    ‘Mother doesn’t know but father allowed me to see her because I wanted to. She doesn’t — didn’t — look like me. Did you see her?’ Gavriel shook his head, unable to utter the lie. ‘Well, she had dark hair. Father told me to kiss her but —’ he made a sound of disgust — ‘I didn’t want to. She felt stiff, cold.’
    Gavriel silently praised the emotional armour with which childhood still protected Leo.
    ‘They’re burying her in the family crypt. She has her own tombstone being carved. I’ll kiss her tombstone perhaps, shall I?’
    ‘Good idea,’ Gavriel said. ‘I saw Piven earlier today. I suppose he doesn’t know much about it.’
    The shrug Leo gave was nonetheless rueful. ‘Piven doesn’t know much of anything. Can I ask you something, Gav?’
    ‘Anything. You are the heir to