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receive the accolade from the king’s own hand. Most had been in training with Duke Richard, or at least had served as squires at court for several years, and now, having achieved their majority, were deemed ready to assume the duties and privileges of knighthood. All of the candidates had kept their vigil the night before, following a ritual bath and robing.
    The court candidates came first, according to the usual custom, with each being brought before the king by his sponsor, there to kneel and be invested with golden spurs. The candidate then received the sword accolade from the king’s hand or, in some cases, from the hand of his father or other older male relative who was also a knight, after which the queen girded each new knight with the white belt, symbolic of the purity of his new vocation. After being presented with a goodly sword, the new knight then placed his joined hands between those of the king and pledged his fealty to the Crown of Gwynedd.
    Court candidates were somewhat sparse that year, though the half-dozen dubbed were of excellent quality. Jaska Collins and Ulf Carey excelled at horsemanship. The twins Thomas and Geoffrey de Main, whose swordsmanship was equaled by few others of their age, were so different in every other respect that they might not have even been brothers. Trevor Udaut had been the king’s personal squire for the past several years, and would remain in royal service. Phares Donovan, the last of them, was a keen archer, especially from horseback.
    â€œDo you like the looks of that one?” Zoë whispered to Alazais, as the queen girded Sir Phares with the white belt. “He’s very well connected.”
    â€œZoë, stop it!” Alazais hissed, with a wide-eyed glance over her shoulder at the Lendour candidates.
    â€œWell, he is well connected, Zaizie,” Alyce agreed, slipping an arm around her youngest stepdaughter’s waist. “His father was castellan to the Earl of Marley.”
    â€œAnd it doesn’t hurt that he was squire to Prince Brion,” Zoë added, “and is utterly devoted to him. Hopefully, he will also prove to be a friend to Alaric,” she added more softly.
    For answer, Alyce only slipped her arm through Zoë’s and briefly laid her head against the shoulder of this, her sister of the heart, grateful that Zoë also would always be a friend to her son. Very shortly, she knew, the king would make public his latest decision regarding all of their fates. Kenneth’s appointment as Earl of Lendour would greatly ease her position as well as his, for she would share his rank—and finally have a status at least somewhat commensurate with her station as mother of a future duke.
    For a Deryni like herself, of course, it was a double-edged distinction, since it would thrust her into public prominence again, when she had only just begun to live down the notoriety of using her powers to unmask murderers at Twelfth Night four years ago. Already, she had seen the brother of one of the murderers, scowling across the hall at her.
    With luck, however, the new rank should help her keep Alaric safe until he was grown and could fulfill the destiny for which he had been born. Toward what else had her life been preparing her, than to support the House of Haldane in whatever way was needful?
    Next to be called forward were two candidates from Meara: Alun Melandry, son of the murdered former royal governor of Ratharkin, and Arthen Talbot, youngest son of the present governor. Alun’s knighting had a bittersweet quality to it, for he had seen his father put to death at the end of a rope by Mearan rebels when he was too young to do anything to stop it. His reception of the accolade now affirmed his determination to carry on in his father’s footsteps, where he would serve among the knights sworn to the service of the present royal governor.
    The son of that royal governor, by contrast, was relaxed and almost informal.