CHAPTER 42 

Rakastava was so underpopulated that Dennis encountered only three of its citizens on his way to his room. 

He expected to be laughed at. He was a ludicrous figure, tired, naked and blotched with swellings. 

The woman and men who faced Dennis, from around corners or a doorway, fled in the opposite direction as soon as their eyes took him in. A naked wildman might frighten anybody, but there was more to it than that. One of the men bobbed a nervous bow, and the woman muttered, "Prince Dennis," before she bolted away. 

They were in awe of him. Not even because he'd killed monsters. 

The folk of Rakastava were in awe of Dennis' willingness to go well beyond the city's walls. 

"They're all cowards," he muttered as the door of his room opened with its promise of bath and balm. He was too exhausted to put real venom into the observation. 

"Not all of them are cowards, Dennis," Chester disagreed in a mild tone. Then he added, "The Princess Aria will be at meal in the assembly hall when you have bathed." 

Dennis grinned. "Not all of them," he agreed. 

But the cheerful expression faded when he remembered the way Gannon's image looked at the princess—and the way the princess looked back.