NINETEEN
Across the Border
SUMMER 965 MC
Brida brought her horse to a halt. Beside her rode Lochlan, looking resplendent in a fine coat of chainmail beneath a crimson cloak.
"Isn't it grand!" she said.
"Grand? What's so grand about it? We're marching to a river we can't cross. I told you this was a bad idea."
"Hush now," she soothed. "The prince assured me his mages would be able to get us across."
"I'd prefer to put my faith in a few sturdy boats than trust that foreigner. And why here, of all places? Couldn't he have picked somewhere a little easier to get to?"
"And where might that be? The same place we crossed last time? Weldwyn would never expect us to make a crossing here."
"You don't know that," Lochlan insisted.
"Yes, I do."
"How?"
"Look for yourself," Brida said. "Do y
