“Why don’t we walk in the ward?” Pronjed said at last.
Evanthya nodded and led him down the winding stairway of the cloister tower and out into the swirling snow. She pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders and lowered her head against the storm.
“Your duke took a great chance just now,” the archminister said, raising his voice so that it would carry over the wind that keened like a demon among the castle walls. “The men of Solkara have little patience with those who would question their decisions. I don’t know whether to ascribe your duke’s actions to courage or folly.” She glanced at him and he grinned, looking gaunt as a cadaver. “Perhaps we should call it both.”
“Perhaps we should call it honesty, Archminister. My duke is a man who is not afraid to speak his mind, even to those who might be disturbed by what he has to say.”
“A trait he shares with his first minister.”
“I’m not certain I know what you mean,” she said, the lie coming to her easily. In the days after Carden’s death, Evanthya had argued forcefully against accepting Grigor, the eldest of the king’s surviving brothers, as Aneira’s new ruler, though she knew that defying him might lead to civil war. Pronjed never said anything to her, but she had seen the venom in his yellow eyes when he looked at her, and she knew that he had spoken to Fetnalla, hoping to convince her that Evanthya’s approach would lead Aneira to ruin.
“Of course you do. You were willing to oppose Grigor no matter the consequences for yourself or your duke. And as it turns out, you were right. A man who could resort to poisoning the queen and her Council of Dukes would have been capable of even greater atrocities once on the throne. We owe you a great debt, First Minister.”
“Thank you, Archminister.” It was the last thing she would have expected him to say. This was part of what made him so dangerous. He could be charming when he wished to be. Walking with him now, Evanthya had to remind herself that Fetnalla believed Pronjed might possess delusion magic-a powerful Qirsi magic that allowed him to bend the minds of Eandi to his purposes and to lie without fear of detection to other Qirsi. Fetnalla and her duke had even surmised that the archminister had used this power to make Carden take his own life. If he’s flattering you he must want something. The warning echoed in her mind, as if Fetnalla were shouting the words to her all the way from Orvinti.
“What is it you want of me, Archminister?”
“Want of you?”
Evanthya actually smiled. Delusion magic or not, he could be rather transparent at times.
“Never mind that you asked me to speak with you, the fact is that you’ve never cared for me, nor I for you, your compliments notwithstanding. So I ask you again, what do you want?”
He smiled in return, a cold, thin smile that actually struck her as being more guileless than any other expression she had seen on his bony features that day.
“Very well, First Minister. I want to know how far your duke will go in opposing the regent’s plans for war.”
Evanthya felt her stomach tighten. “Is a war imminent?”
“What do you think? Would a Solkaran leader travel this far in the midst of the snows merely in the interest of building good relations with his dukes?”
She said nothing, her silence an admission that he must be right.
“Would Lord Dantrielle withhold men from the royal army?”
“You know I can’t answer that,” she said quietly. “Even if I knew the duke’s mind, which I don’t, I couldn’t tell you. You’re the regent’s man.”
“No,” he said. “I’m not.”
Evanthya looked at him sharply.
“I was Carden’s archminister,” he told her, “and Chofya’s after that. But I’ve never seen myself as belonging to the Solkarans. I’m Qirsi, First Minister, as are you.”
“But you’re here with the regent.”
“Yes, and I still don’t know why.”
Evanthya hadn’t expected him to be so blunt, and she found herself wondering if he was deceiving her. Did delusion magic work on other Qirsi if they were aware of its use?
“I don’t think the regent trusts me,” Pronjed went on. “If I had to guess, I’d say that he brought me along because he felt safer knowing where I was and what I was doing. I don’t believe he trusts the queen mother either-that’s why he responded as he did to your duke’s question about her. He knows that I supported her against Grigor, and he fears that she and I will plot against him as well.”
“Then do you ask about my duke’s intentions on her behalf?”
“No. As I told you, I’m Qirsi before I’m anything else. I ask you, Qirsi to Qirsi, because I want to be prepared for all contingencies.”
Qirsi to Qirsi. She had heard it said that members of the conspiracy spoke to each other in this way, placing their devotion to the Qirsi people above all else. Was that what he had in mind? To turn her to the Qirsi conspiracy?
“Can’t you tell me anything?” he prodded again.
“As I’ve already explained, Archminister, the duke has told me nothing. I have no knowledge of his plans.”
“But you know him. Even without knowing his mind, you know his tendencies, what he’s capable of doing. I’m not asking you to betray Tebeo’s confidence. I merely wish to know if you think that his desire for peace is more powerful than his fear of defying the regent.”
She stopped, turning to face him as a gust of wind whipped her white hair about her face. “Forgive me for saying so, Archminister, but I believe you are asking me to betray Tebeo’s confidence. You would never think to ask me such questions in front of the duke, nor would you tolerate such questions from me as they pertained to the regent or the queen mother.”
“Actually, you’re wrong about that. As a servant of House Solkara I couldn’t tell you anything. But speaking with you in private, Qirsi to Qirsi, I’ll answer any question you ask me.” He grinned, adding, “Within reason, of course.”
Evanthya just stared at the man, uncertain as to whether to believe him.
“How soon will this war be starting?” she finally asked.
“Very soon. Perhaps within half a year. The regent awaits word from the emperor, but already he’s making plans to expand the army so that it’s half again as great as it is now.”
“Doesn’t the regent understand that by attacking Eibithar, we risk drawing every realm in the Forelands into the conflict?”
“I believe he does. Despite what others have said about him in the past, he’s no fool, and even Harel, who may well be a fool, must realize where their attack on Eibithar will lead.”
“And yet they make their plans anyway?”
The archminister raised an eyebrow. “That should tell you something.”
Evanthya nodded. “They’re that confident.”
“Yes. Whether they have cause to be is open to debate, but there’s no doubt that they expect to prevail, no matter the scope of the conflict.” He paused, eyeing her closely. “So, First Minister, in light of what you know of your duke, faced with the prospect of this war, will he defy the regent, or will he commit Dantrielle’s men to the effort?”
Evanthya looked away, taking a long breath. She could hardly refuse to answer him now, not after he had answered her questions so directly. It seemed to the minister that Pronjed had led her here, knowing all along that he could compel her to reply, and once more she wondered if he had been using magic to cloud her perception of the truth.
“I can’t answer with any certainty,” she said at last, feeling as she spoke that she was betraying the duke’s trust. “But if forced to guess, I’d say that he’ll send men as the regent asks. My duke values peace, but he is Aneiran above all else. He won’t allow men from the other houses to fight and die without adding Dantrielle’s army to their cause.”
Pronjed appeared to weigh this. “And if any of Dantrielle’s allies considered defying House Solkara-the new dukes in Tounstrel or Noltierre, for instance-would Tebeo be able to prevail upon them to commit their armies as well?”