It was dark when the reached Olau.

Moonlight had been terrified, and had refused to be ridden. They had walked her all the way from where she had bucked Alanna, talking to her and stroking her soft mane. But it had taken nearly three hours for her ears to perk up and the white to disappear from her eyes.

None of the three talked about what had happened. Alanna knew that they were wondering about her sudden lack of horsemanship, but she didn't want to tell anyone about the power she had felt. He stomach still ached from where it had hit, and her head felt large and sore.

Eleni met them at the door, a lantern clasped in one hand, her face white and scared in the darkness.

'There you are!' she cried. 'We were wondering what had happened to you.'

Gratefully, George handed Minstrel's reigns to a stable boy.

'Moonlight bucked Alanna along the road. We've had to walk: I think the old lady's thrown a shoe.'

Eleni's face was flooded with concern.

'Nothing broken, I hope?'

Alanna shook her head, red with humiliation. Suddenly, all she wanted to do was see her adopted father. Miles knew everything. Miles would help her sort it out. She needed to know what had happened.

As though she knew what Alanna was thinking, Eleni beckoned them all inside. She caught the young knights arm as she went past.

'Miles says to go straight up to the office when you get here.'

The house at Olau was very different to the twisting corridors and ornate tapestries of Corus. The pathways were wide and empty, with large windows and pale walls, painted to hide the stone. Alanna walked quickly along the hallway, following her feet in the direction of Miles' office.

Putting her ear against it to hear if anyone was inside, she knocked three times. A low voice grumbled from inside.

'Come in.'

Alanna shoved the door open and slipped inside.

Miles turned to meet her, and his bearded face split into a smile. Lines crinkled around his sparkling eyes, and Alanna felt an odd wave of thankfulness and pride in her father.

'Alanna! What kept you?'

Moving across the room, she embraced him warmly.

'Moonlight started on the road. Something scared her and she threw me back.'

The excuse rolled so easily across her tongue that she felt almost guilty. The look Miles was giving her reminded her of the way Duke Gareth had looked at her when she was a page, being bullied half witless by Ralon of Malven, and yet still swearing that she had fallen here or tripped there. She looked at her feet. She could feel herself blushing.

Miles sighed, shaking his head.

'I know you young upstarts have often thought us elderly folk stupid, Alanna, but believe me, we do know some things. Age may not bring beauty, but it does bring wisdom.' He reached out with one hand and raised her chin so that she was looking into her eyes. 'Now, as we both know you were either lying or understating, why don't you tell me what really happened?'

Alanna looked into his eyes, and then, to her horror, she began to cry. Miles put an arm round her and made soothing noises. His beard tickled her face as he stood quietly next to her, waiting for her to explain.

When her tears had all poured out, and she reached the hiccupping stage, she took a deep breath and tried to explain.

'It was like...a power, building far away. It wasn't a gentle magic – it was like Duke Roger's – corrupted...malignant. It just grew and grew until it was unbearable, and then it snapped. But you know...well, you don't, but you can guess...when a spell snaps, it's usually because the maker's mind has snapped. But this spell was meant to break. And it just let loose this...hatred, that spilled through you. Moonlight could feel it and I could feel it. And it hurt, Miles.' She looked straight at him, her chin raised as though defying him to argue. 'It was more power than anyone since Thom passed on, I swear.'

Miles let her spill it out, then gave her another great bear hug. But above her head, where she couldn't see, his face was filled with concern. A building of power? Villages disappearing in a single night? The movement of tribes in the north? Something was seriously wrong.

But as Alanna raised her head, he smoothed the frown from his face and gave her a smile.

'My sources – and your highly intelligent husband's sources – are dotted all over the land, and beyond. If there's anything that needs knowing, we'll know.'

She trusted him implicitly. How could she not?

He squeezed her shoulder gently.

'Come on. Eleni's had dinner ready for nearly two hours, and she'll be mad if it spoils just because of a horse.'

Arms tight around each other, they left the room.

...

As the days passed, the memory of the events on the road began to fade. Olau in spring was beautiful, and as they spent many days wandering among the orchards and climbing to the roofs, and playing chess with Miles in the evenings, the memories began to take on a fuzzier, more distant hue, and Alanna berated herself for being so easily scared.

Thayet arrived with baby Roald, and the youngster was duly paraded between the local woman folk. The young prince was so pampered that Thayet scolded the farmer's wives for spoiling him. But as Alanna quipped, looking at the farmer's own rosy children, spoiling didn't seem to be doing to much harm.

The three weeks passed far to quickly – as some wise fool once said, time flies when you're having fun. All to soon, the bags were packed, Coram was readying the horses, and Miles was standing at the door with wistful eyes.

'You will have one more meal before you go?'

Thayet came to him with open arms.

'Miles, you know that nothing would give us greater pleasure.'

Eleni's new chef cooked up a feast for the royal party: chicken pie, tender lamb cutlets, a gorgeous dish of cheese and vegetables for those less inclined to heavy food. Miles broached a barrel of ale and they drank toasts to all kinds of things: the prince, the country, the jewel: even to their horses, who would carry them home. As the last morsels of food were cleared from the table, Miles stood and held up his hands.

'Friends, it has been my delight to host you here these few weeks – indeed, it saddens me that you could not stay longer. But as you must go, I wish you well upon your journey.'

'However, there is one piece of information that I was asked to give you before you wended your way back to Corus. I'm sorry I did not give you this before, but I was given specific instructions to tell you right at the end.'

'Next week, the Shang Falcon is coming to Corus.'

Alanna saw Jonathon's eyes widen. He seemed about to speak, but Miles raised a hand to stop him.

'Many of you do not know the Shang Falcon, but I'm sure you soon will. I was asked, by a messenger from them, for someone to come and meet them outside the city walls in the moorland just at the edge of the royal woodland. I do not know the reasons for this, but I'm sure it is very important that they are met by someone with a good knowledge in forest craft.'

For some inexplicable reason, his eyes turned to Alanna. Suddenly his voice became very grave.

'I do not know why someone as powerful as the Shang Falcon should come this way, but I'm sure that it is very serious, if not dangerous. I fear that this messy war set in motion by Duke Roger could not yet be gone. Therefore, I would like to propose a final toast.'

He raised his glass, his eyes solemn and sad.

'To life.'

Every voice in the room echoed his, so that the whole hall rang with voices.

'To life.'