quietly, but with greater emphasis. At that last sentence, even Einar felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
‘We do, you’re right,’ Alrik spoke up before Xives could get a word in. ‘Such is the law, which we shall respect and uphold,’ he promised, though to Einar it seemed more like a subtle warning to the legate not to say anything dangerous.
‘You are my guests and may stay in my house for as long as you wish,’ said the father, rising from his seat. ‘I hope to see you at dinner tonight. And now I have some business to attend to.’ Without waiting for a reply, the jarl left, signalling to Bragi to follow him. The eldest of the brothers followed their father rather reluctantly. The remaining siblings exchanged glances and, muttering some pleasantries, began to leave one by one.
Einar was the last to leave and went over to his new friend. For a moment, they both looked at the book Ceet was holding. It would probably have been quite interesting if the beastman hadn't been holding it upside down.
‘What do you mean, “that’s the law”?’ the legate almost snarled, fixing the captain with a piercing stare.
‘They both attacked the jarl’s son after leaving the deck,’ Alrik replied in a grim tone. They were both speaking quite quietly, so Einar had to concentrate pretty hard to hear them. He wasn’t the only one paying attention, though, as Tahon was pricking up his ears so keenly it was a sight to behold. ‘They attacked him; they didn’t challenge him to a duel. What’s more, they did so on territory not belonging to the Empire.’
‘How un—’ Livitus trailed off mid-word, presumably silenced by a single glance from the captain.
‘The agreement between the Ytrens and XuinDo stipulates that the inhabitants of the Ovein Sea shall respect imperial law, but on Ytrenian soil, Ytrenian law applies,’ sighed the officer. ‘And according to that law, an attack on an unarmed child is an act of cowardice and a lack of honour, and as such,
