Chapter 12: A Bed Sworn Over A Knife

They stood in the Stone vault, all nine of them, around the cold grey boulder that had gone dull as a dead coal.

Linnea stood in front of them in her robe, with her arms crossed and her hair still damp.

"Explain," she said to Idris.

The serpent folded his hands.

"The Stone does not measure what a man does with his body, Majesty. It measures what he means by it."

"Each of your nine answers was true on your side. You wanted them. It felt the want in every bed."

"But the Stone also felt the knife-oath under each man's skin."

He looked at the nine cords gleaming grey on nine wrists.

"A bond made while one side holds a vow to kill the other is a false bond."

"It counts for a night, and then it rots. Nine answers sworn over a knife are nine answers unsworn."

Linnea closed her eyes.

"So I did all of it for nothing."

"No," said Ruvan. His dry whisper was gone.

"You gave Corrow a winter. It was not for nothing."

"It was a lie," said Linnea, "and every one of you knew it."

Nobody spoke.

Then Kaelen stepped forward.

He took off his jacket and set it on the stone.

"I swore it before I met you," he said. "My sister's boy is seven. He was in the cage for two weeks when I swore."

"And?"

"The first night you said you wanted my hands, I forgot there was an oath."

"I stayed forgotten until the Lion said it out loud."

"That is not an excuse."

"No. It isn't. I'm not giving one. I'm telling you what happened."

She turned to the next.

"Ruvan."

"My little brother is nine," said Ruvan simply. "Bracken knew I would not do it for money. He knew I would do it for him."

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