CHAPTER 23
The Winged ManIt was in Baddon that Yaruk finally gave Bladud the skystone. The responsibility of holding it had been weighing heavily on him, and on more than one occasion he had woken in the night feeling that the ghost of the old Eagle King was standing beside him in his darkened chamber.
The journey from the northern frontier back to Trinovantum had been hurried and exhausting. Rheinid and Bladud scarcely spoke to each other, but she was constantly under surveillance in case she decided to double back and cause trouble in what was now Arrak’s kingdom. Yaruk waited for the right time to deliver the precious object, but the proper moment never seemed to come. Bladud continued morose and short-tempered, and Yaruk was never conveniently alone with him.
Back in the royal city
