Raising his eyes to the palace at their backs, he shook his head. “Return to your villages. Live your lives until I call on you to protect Gaule. All who are here today are pardoned. Except for one man.” He hung his head and pushed through the crowd. “Simon, bring Leroy to the throne room.”
Refusing the offered horse, Alex walked the long road through the outer castle to the palace where his mother awaited him. She gasped when he appeared. He released his hold on his sword and it hit the stone floor with a jarring crash as she wrapped her arms around him.
“Is it over?” she asked, her words barely audible.
He shook his head against her shoulder. “Not yet.” Without another word, he walked up the steps, leaving muddy boot prints in his wake. He sat heavily.
Those who’d stayed hidden in th
