The Plains of Kallanash by Pauline M. Ross

I… I can move quickly and produce the unexpected attack. We did well when we worked together, as we did when we first came here, and these last few weeks, too.” It was not quite a lie, he felt, more a smudging of the truth. He took another swallow of wine. “I think we can move on to the fourth line quite swiftly if we continue to combine our strengths. Not this year, perhaps, but next year… I believe it would be possible. But let me be honest with you, Jonnor. I won’t stand by and watch it all drift away. You’re not the only one with ability on the line, and I want to do my fair share. Together we can do better than either of us alone.”
    Again he drank. Jonnor was drinking steadily as he listened, his face calmer now, and Hurst refilled his own glass and slid the decanter across the table.
    “As for Mia…” Another mouthful of wine to steady him. He shifted a little, trying to find a comfortable position for his bad leg. “You know how I feel about her, brother. Gods, the whole world knows how I feel, except for Mia herself. But she’s never looked twice at me. Well, who would? It’s you she’s always wanted.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous!”
    “Didn’t you realise?”
    “No, I... Really?” Jonnor looked doubtful. Had he truly never noticed, never looked at Mia and seen the hope in her eyes? Perhaps not. He’d only ever seen Tella, never looked any further, never seen beyond Mia’s apparent contentment with her role. “Are you sure?”
    Hurst gave a little laugh. He wondered if Jonnor heard the bitterness in him, or whether he sounded quite normal.
    “Yes, I’m sure. And I find I’d rather see her happy than have her myself. So I won’t press you to share her, brother. If she’s happy with you, I can be content. I’ll take my share of the skirmishes and you can have Mia. But you have to do the business with her, and soon. If we go to the Ring without a settled arrangement in place...”
    “I know, I know, they’ll break us. Do you think I don’t realise that? Gods, how I hate the interviews!” Jonnor drained his wine again and poured more. “Those pods! I can’t breathe in there, and the globes…”
    “There’s nothing to fear from them if we tell the truth,” Hurst said, although his stomach contracted at the thought of it. Everyone hated the interviews. “So it has to be done. You and Mia.”
    Jonnor nodded. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? I’ve always envied you, you know, Hurst.”
    “ You envied me ? Handsome, perfectly formed me?” He flapped one hand at his leg and the other towards his face.
    Jonnor managed a half-smile. “You have this way with women, somehow, so effortless.”
    Now Hurst was astonished. “Me? What under the sun…?”
    “Oh, come on, don’t play the innocent! You’ve always had this air of self-assurance.”
    “I… Really?” He scratched his nose, frowning. “Well, I like women, naturally. I enjoy being with them, who doesn't? But I've never been particularly confident around them, not like some men. Swordwork – that was different. I’ve been in battle on the border with my father, so I admit to being quite cocky about my fighting skills. But with women – not really.”
    “Well, whatever you do, it seems to work. I hear about all these conquests of yours. One of the cooks. That girl from the stables. A couple of Commanders ’ daughters.”
    Hurst shifted uncomfortably. He never thought of them as conquests, as if he’d fought for them and won, fending off rivals or their own reluctance. Rather they’d come to him. He wasn’t quite sure what they saw in him, but he’d been very happy to oblige them.
    “And then there were Tella’s Companions,” Jonnor went on.
    “Oh but – it’s part of their job, isn’t it?”
    “Even Tersia? Oh. I never thought of that. But the thing is, Hurst …” He gulped down his wine, and refilled his glass again. “The thing is… I’ve never had much luck with women. Not even a bit of fumbling in the