Page 21 of Fox of Fox Hall

Then Domvoda stormed into the room and hair wasthe last thing on Fox’s mind.

Trailing after Domvoda, who looked to havebarely paused to change from his hunting kit, were servants andseveral byr, including his Potentials and some of their familymembers, all of their faces blank. Domvoda stopped, glancing overthe room and narrowing his eyes when he saw Fox.

Fox pulled his lute to his chest, but Domvodalooked away without requesting a song and said not a word. Not toFox, not to his possible consorts or fertiles, and not to any ofthe byr in the room. Neither did he sit.

Fox’s stomach, thankfully empty, tightened.

“There will be quite the feast tonight,” one ofthe byr who had followed Domvoda in offered timidly, choosing asubtle way to let the crowd know the hunt had been successful andwas not the reason for Domvoda’s foul mood.

“Will Byr Drashnal be there?” some fool askedfor all to hear in the tensely quiet room.

“He chooses to sleep in the fields with hishorse,” someone else informed them, full of disdain at theidea.

Fox wondered if the new hero had not presentedhimself to the king, but that didn’t seem something for Domvoda tosulk over when he could sneer at the knight later in front ofothers or deny him tournament prizes.

“Please tell more stories of this remarkableknight who so fascinates you all,” Domvoda said, exaggeratedinterest in his tone as he finally slouched into his seat. “Isuppose I should expect such talk near my tournament, but thereisn’t much to knights, is there?”

Fox’s attention was briefly caught by ByrFalnya, who shifted slightly, probably thinking of his cousin. Foxlooked away a second later, intending to keep his head down, buthad to respond when he heard his name.

“Is there, Fox?” Domvoda asked again, targetingFox specifically. His gaze passed over Fox’s hair before thedragon-shell gleam of his eyes returned to Fox’s face.

Fox swallowed, reminding himself there were nomarks on him, that he had looked several times and found nothing.That he had every right to do as he pleased in his own bed—orwhoever’s bed. And that this was probably about yesterday, not lastnight.

“I have never found talk of tournaments, or thetournaments themselves, of much interest,” Fox answered, carefullyhonest.

“No bets for my Fox.” Domvoda leaned back. “Eventhough he surely must have information the rest of us do not, beingso close to the competitors.”

Fox looked down to adjust the strap helping holdthe weight of the lute although it did not need adjusting. “I’mafraid I have not yet met or even seen the new arrival, myking.”

“Ah, well then,” Domvoda said airily, and Foxwas about to sigh in relief until Domvoda continued, “since Fox canprovide no clues as to who you all should wager on, perhaps our newarrival should demonstrate for us tonight before the evening meal.A little sparring—if your stomach can bear it, of course, Fox.Would it spoil the tournament, do you think, to have this knightspar with our Dragonslayer? Or would it whet appetites?”

Fox’s stomach was indeed protesting the idea.“From what I understand, the new knight has only just arrived.”

“So soft on the knights is my Fox.” Whether ornot Domvoda had forgiven Fox’s displeasure with him yesterday, hecertainly hadn’t forgotten it. “But alas, he is also right. Itwouldn’t be fair, would it, if he hasn’t rested?”

“Some of the other knights then?” Fox suggested,gaze flicking to Byr Falnya again. “To demonstrate individualskills?”

“My cousin would be happy to.” Byr Falnyaobediently stepped in, his manner so like Conall’s that Fox wantedto demand to know if they were related.

Domvoda waved a hand, then seemed to remember hewas supposed to be pleasing his guests and turned away from Fox tolook at Byr Falnya.

“Do you take an interest in tournaments?” heasked but before receiving an answer, tossed out, “Charm us withsome music, Fox.”

Fox gratefully bent his head and began toplay.

ChapterEight

The sparring was dutifully arranged and began inthe late afternoon outside in the gardens. Fox didn’t want toimagine the sound of so many people in armor moving across stone orwooden floors, but the real reason the display was outside was amatter of space. For this, all the byr had emerged from their roomsand even the knights not chosen to take part had put on some oftheir best to observe.

That included Conall, once again in his plainwhite surcoat. If he was bothered at not being invited to show offhis skills, he naturally gave no sign. Byr Rolfi, a surcoatdecorated with crossed swords worn over his shining armor, foughtwith daggers and a hand attachment of metal claws that Foxshuddered away from the sight of. Such attachments also existed fortails, but not for use in tournaments, since excited, battle-readyknights could not always control their tails. Byr Falnya’s cousin,whom Byr Falnya claimed was younger and less experienced,nonetheless appeared utterly calm as she did things with a spearthat Fox also did not watch too closely.

With most eyes on the display of might andskill, Fox risked a few glances at Conall and saw nothing toindicate Conall was tired. Perhaps he had lingered in bed thatmorning as well.

At one point, Conall stood next to the newfavorite to win, both of them speaking quietly to one another whilethey watched other knights show off for the rest of the byr. Theycould have been discussing the weather for all Fox knew. Theycertainly didn’t appear to have any bad feeling between them. ByrDrashnal was tall and lean, with black-tipped ears and ablue-tipped tail. To have combined colors was an astonishingrarity. Byr Drashnal was striking for that reason but ordinary inall other respects… except for how he moved, which was silently andwith purpose, like Conall.

The observation only increased Fox’s horror overthe whole thing, and he feared his anxiety was on his face when hiseyes met Conall’s in the crowd. But at least the display ofcontrolled violence gave him an excuse to keep his head down,although it did not let him escape Domvoda, who had Fox stand nearhim for most of it. Additionally, the excitement the demonstrationssent through the byr meant that their chatter was too loud for themto hear or need music as they ate their dinner. Fox slipped awayhalfway through the meal, hopefully unnoticed.

He returned to the startlingly quiet and emptyKaladas and took the time to file his nails and decide what hewould wear during the tournament days. Then, restless, he went backout to the hall to sit by the fireplace and attempt to replace abutton on a doublet. Doing his own mending saved money and he wascompetent enough at things like buttons, though he would never findwork as a tailor.

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