The girls all gasped in surprise, except for Brenna. She jumped from her chair, eyes gleaming, to grab the arm of Robbin as he stalked through the doorway.

Excitement shivered through Brenna, but it was short lived. Soon it was replaced by worry when she saw the hard look in Robbin's eyes. She followed him quietly as he crossed to the center of the room where he paused.

"What happened?" she asked, glancing behind them at the open door. The room on the other side was empty except for Afton and Robert, which meant the barons must have taken the other exit.

When Robbin didn't answer her, she tightened her grip. "Robbin! Did you get it? What did they say?"

Robbin's hand balled into a fist which he slammed against his leg. "No! No, we bloody didn't get the army!" he growled.

Shock dropped Brenna's jaw. "They wouldn't listen? But, I thought for sure that offering the return of their titles would persuade them to take a side."

"Oh, no, they were more than willing to help," Robbin said, spinning on his heel to face the open doorway and his family. "But my lord father thought we stood a better chance rejecting the troops."

"What?" Brenna gasped, but her voice was drowned out by Robert's barely contained annoyance.

"Robbin, we went over this," he said. "The Brill Colony is too integral to Anjeluund's monetary well-being to just give it away."

Robbin grunted in frustration.

"Anyone care to explain what exactly is going on?" Brenna asked, staying by Robbin's side but pinning Afton with her gaze. As she suspected, he was the first of the three to open up.

"Your barons were able to work out a deal with the Queen of Grella so that we might use her rather large guild of mercenary fighters."

"That's good, isn't it?" Morna spoke up. "The Grellan mercenaries are known to be experts in warfare."

"Yes, and being the best means that they can afford to charge a king's blessed ransom for their services," Robert said.

Afton ran a hand through his hair. "The queen will waive the astronomical fee that we could never afford, but only on the condition that we agree to hand her the Brill Colony should we be successful in claiming the Anjeluund throne."

Brenna scoffed. "Brill? She must be insane. They supply almost all of the silver and copper that Anjeluund exports! She can't possibly expect you to just hand it over. Anjelunnd would be crippled financially, not to mention it would leave a gap in our presence to the north."

"Not only does she expect it, but she made it quite clear that we'll gain her help no other way," Robert said.

"Can't you find a cheaper set of men to use?" Morna asked. "Grella is filled with dukes that have their own private armies, and the Ittal barons have many connections..."

"Dukes have to listen to their queen, and the witch has put a ban on anyone doing business with us in this regard. Unless it's her mercenaries."

At this point Robbin had made two circuits from the middle of the room to the window and back. His restless energy was almost palpable.

"We should have agreed," he said.

Robert snorted. "And give up Brill? Robbin, you cannot be that thick."

"I never said give up Brill," Robbin returned.

The room quieted as everyone tried to follow the opaque path of Robbin's logic without quite knowing if he was entirely in his right mind.

Robbin walked to one of the chairs and gripped the back until his knuckles went white. He looked up with gleaming eyes.

"We agree to the Queen's terms, have her send the army, and defeat Revours and his men. Then we simply deny any knowledge of any pact with her."

Robert rolled his eyes. "I thought you had a real plan."

Robbin scowled. "It is a real plan, and one that will work."

"No, it's a stupid and impulsive whim. If we promise Grella the Brill Colony, we'll be expected to sign some sort of document. She will have proof that we were aware of this condition. If we backtrack on that, we risk her attacking us when we will already be weak from fighting off Revours."

"When Revours is defeated, the White Bay pirates will switch their allegiance to us if they value their profits at all. With them we can threaten Grella's trade if she tries to push the issue of Brill. Will she want a war along with a blockade on the White Bay? They are a country dependent on imports. All we would need is to outlast them."

"She can still send troops to Anjeluund," Robert said.

"Then we ask Cameria for help. Or even Quar, when they realize Revours was the bad bet."

Robert pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Cameria never involves itself in the affairs of the eastern countries, and we cannot trust Quar. It's much too risky. The decision to refuse Grella's offer still stands. We'll find another way."

Robbin didn't say anything, but his hand shook on the back of the chair. His face drained of color.

"Father, this is our chance to end the war within a matter of months-"

Robert did not let his son finish. "Enough, Robbin! Lies and threats are not the way to run a country, and I won't listen to any more of these plans of yours!" He beckoned to Afton and headed for the door across the room that led into the hallway.

"Hannara and Mergo, may we escort you back to your rooms?" Robert asked, pulling on the cuffs of his doublet and impatiently glancing down the hall.

The two girls curtseyed and nearly dashed out of the room. The tension boiled behind them as Robbin glared at his father. Afton ducked under their stand off and disappeared with the two girls. Morna hung back, uncertain as to where to go, and Brenna sidestepped to place a hand on Robbin's back. He tensed, but didn't jerk away which was something.

"Lest you've forgotten, your brother is the one who will wear the crown," Robert said, his voice quiet and calm despite the intensity of his face. "You may wish to impress everyone by winning the war for him, but Afton is the one who they will look to when it is all said and done. So spare us your risks and your immature outbursts, and support your brother like you're meant to."

With that he turned and closed the door firmly behind him.

Robbin's mouth flattened and his nostrils flared, his eyes staring at the spot where his father had been but a moment before. Brenna caught Morna's attention and jerked her chin to the empty room where the meeting had taken place. Understanding the silent message, Morna slipped from the room and left the newlyweds alone together.

Brenna moved her hand from Robbin's back to his arm, trying to catch his eye by tilting her head into his view. "Talk to me," she said.

Robbin's jaw worked, as if the words he wanted to speak were caught in his throat.

"We can find another way to insure our importance..." Brenna began, but was startled into silence when Robbin slammed his fist down on the chair with a loud crack. He kicked the legs and spun around, running his hands through his hair with a loud exhale.

"He is so blinded by his stupid code of conduct!" he shouted. "In order to follow some ridiculous rules some knight in shining armor made up hundreds of years ago we're not allowed to use the dirty tricks that Revours is using every day! At this rate our capital will run out and we will be forced to give over the crown to Revours simply because we cannot afford to hold our armies! Does he want that kind of humiliating defeat?"

Brenna waited patiently as he stalked the room, pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

"And Afton is just as daft as our father, agreeing with anything he says. He has no backbone to be a king. We need to end this war as soon as we can, and if that means lying to achieve our means that that is a price we shall pay!"

He stopped a few feet away, staring out the window and clenching and unclenching his fists at his side. Brenna slowly approached, careful to make sure he knew she was approaching. She didn't try to comfort him or touch him, knowing, even with only three days experience, that he needed the anger. Needed the way that feeling of uselessness burned into his soul. She needed it too.

By his side she stared out the window as well at the garden slowly falling into disrepair from the biggest threat to Afton's claim.

They were silent for a handful of minutes, Robbin's breathing slowly returning to a steady rhythm. When his hands loosened and hung uncurled, Brenna finally looked up at him.

"Your father may not think anything of you, Robbin, but I trust that you will find another way to finish this before the Glenfarrow house is ruined. May that be through just means, or not."

Robbin was silent a few seconds before he answered her. His eyes stayed fixed on the view out the window. "I have more than one plan. This was only the first."

And even though his fury frightened her, she was glad that it was aimed now at his father as well as their enemies abroad. Her husband's anger was an avalanche of his will, and where he directed it he would always get what he wanted.

Fortunately, what he wanted was in line with her own desires.