The air was taut as a fully drawn bowstring, ready to snap.
The Blood Oath Band soldiers gripped their sword hilts so tightly their knuckles turned white, their wolfish gazes fixed on the woman upstairs and the "Hayne" members around them, whose expressions varied.
A few ragged breaths and the faint scrape of weapons against leather came from the opposing crowd as well. Violence hung on a knife's edge.
Just then, Luciana suddenly let out a soft laugh.
Her laughter broke the frozen killing intent, yet made the atmosphere stranger still.
Her pale violet eyes curved with amusement, as though the threats just now had been nothing more than harmless banter between friends.
"Oh, come now. If we're here to talk, let's act like it," she said, waving a fair hand. Her posture grew languid again as she pointed toward the crude wooden stairs leading to the second floor.
"Come up, dear Lothar. Whether we should fight, whether it's worth fighting... surely you ought to see whether our 'bargaining chips' carry enough weight first, wouldn't you say?"
Aegon stood where he was, watching her silently for two seconds. Then he turned his head slightly and ordered Henry and the Blood Oath Band soldiers behind him in a low voice, "Hold position. Stay alert."
"Commander!" Henry exclaimed under his breath, his eyes full of worry.
Letting Aegon go upstairs alone, into what was plainly the heart of their opponent's territory, was far too dangerous.
Aegon raised a hand, cutting him off.
He unfastened the ordinary longsword at his waist, but instead of handing it to Henry, he kept it in his hand, ready to draw at any moment. Then he stepped onto the creaking wooden stairs.
His steps were steady, his back straight, as though he were not heading into a