King Earconwald shrugged. “For my part, I don’t care if you kill him. But you can’t slay an old war hero’s son openly. Do it without anyone knowing. Oh yes, and be sure the sword finds its way back to my treasury.” He rose from his seat and stretched. “I’ll go exercise with the troops. Good for their morale. As we discussed, the last companies arrive from the north today, and we now have enough of the beasts. We meet again this evening with the dukes to plan tomorrow’s departure.”
