Two days of steady riding later and it was clear as they watched that the army was indeed moving too slowly. Elon saw standards waver, not the ones of his dreams, the ones that turned, but the ones that didn’t move quickly enough. How much was incompetence and how much deliberate delay? he wondered. There was no way to know. As they rode through the camped army, Elon studied who was picketed where while a guard ran ahead to announce them. Far to one side Ailith saw her father’s standard, the castle regnant with the silvery river curled around it. So, he’d come. Not that he could have cried off if the High King summoned him. Still. It would make things interesting. She caught Elon’s eye and pointed to the standard. An eyebrow went up. “I wonder how he does without Tolan?” Elon murmured. “Who controls him now?” Colath looked to see where they looked and saw Riverford’s banner. He looked at Ailith to hear her answer to Elon’s question. She shook her head. “I don’t know.
