“I can’t go to Danalustrous,” Senneth said to the king. “My brother will just have to get married without me. I got married without him, after all.”
“Go,” Baryn said. He looked oddly relaxed for a man who believed his home could be attacked at any minute. “When our customs and civilities are most under siege is the time we most need to observe them.”
“Sire, I’m not sure I can persuade Tayse to stay behind. He knows his first duty is to you, but he-”
“I am the one who commanded him to protect you, and he obeys me very well,” the king said, his eyes crinkling up with laughter. “I require you to defend the realm, and therefore I require him to keep you safe. There is no conflict here.”
“I am not comfortable leaving you behind without either of us in your arsenal.”
“I believe that my safety can be reasonably assured by forty-nine Riders, several thousand soldiers, and this highly unusual troop of mystics you have assembled for my protection.”
That made her groan. “Oh, those mystics from Carrebos! Two of the shape-shifters have proved to be quite talented, and they prowl around the palace grounds all day, sniffing for trouble, but the rest of them are a very mixed blessing. Jerril and Areel have rented another house and turned it into a dormitory of sorts, and I believe Jerril is actually enjoying himself, but training a mystic is like trying to train a raelynx. It pretty much does what it wants to, no matter what you tell it-and it’s dangerous even when you think it’s tame.”
“I quite like having them here. Amalie tells me she has met them all. She has become most interested in magic, you know.”
He looked at her over the tops of his spectacles, and she was forced to laugh. “You know I have learned Amalie’s secret.”
“And you are very shocked.”
“Yes.”
He picked up a quill pen in his right hand and lightly brushed the feathers across the back of his left hand. “Pella’s magic was a true gift to her,” he said quietly. “It enabled her to analyze any situation, fit into any group, put anyone at ease. It was as if she could almost instantly become anyone else for just as long as she needed to. It made her very popular-everyone loved her.”
“I think Amalie’s gift is a little different. But since I’m not sure even she knows the extent of it yet, it is hard to gauge.”
“I have spent her whole life concealing it from others,” the king said. “This does not seem to be the time to announce to the world that she is a mystic.”
“No! But I would want your permission to tell a select few-those I trust the most-those of us you trusted to guard her last summer.”
“I will tell Tayse he may inform the Riders. I assume you wish to give the news to Kirra.”
“And Donnal. And Ellynor. No one else.”
He regarded her a moment, his face grown sad. “And do you think even such a small group will be able to keep the secret?”
“The mystics won’t tell. Only you can gauge the loyalty of the other Riders, but Tayse and Justin are safe.”
He sighed. “Any one of the fifty would defend me to the death if I suddenly claimed to have sorcerous blood. They are bound to me-their loyalty is more important to them than their own lives. But they are not so bound to Amalie. Their oaths were not made to her. They will defend her because she is mine, and as such, she represents the throne. If they know that she is a mystic, I do not know if that fealty will extend to her after I am dead.”
“Which we hope will not be for a very long time.”
He looked suddenly tired. “I pray the gods at least let me survive this war. At least let me give her that much-a kingdom that is whole, if wounded.”
“I think I should stay in Ghosenhall,” Senneth said.
“And I say you should go to Danan Hall,” Baryn replied. “Attend your brother’s wedding. Your king commands you.”
ACCORDINGLY, five days after they had returned from Carrebos, Senneth and Tayse were traveling again. A much different journey this time, she thought. With just two of them to consider, they moved speedily and with utter efficiency. They were accustomed to each other’s strengths by now, so they never had to discuss where to make camp (Tayse always chose some easily defended site) or who would make the fire (Senneth merely had to glance at a pile of kindling). They could, if they needed to, communicate merely with glances and gestures, and whenever they came upon other travelers on the road, they always agreed by some wordless communion whether to pause and share information or simply ride on by.
Both of them were capable of long stretches of utter silence. Senneth found it easy to lose herself in her thoughts, and Tayse was always so interested in the terrain around them that he never seemed to lack for occupation. So they could have passed the entire journey without exchanging a word-but instead, they talked for almost every mile.
Tayse wanted to know if she was nervous about seeing her brothers again. Oh, I think I got past both nervousness and rage sometime last summer. But I wouldn’t say I’m excited at the prospect. Except, of course, for seeing Will. She asked how the Riders had taken the news of Amalie’s magical heritage. Quietly. I think some of them don’t care and some of them are still deciding how they feel, but not one of them would desert the king at this hour because of it. He wanted an update on Jerril’s success with the recruits from Carrebos; she asked if he thought the regent would be the commanding officer on the field when war finally swept into Ghosenhall.
They talked about Ellynor. “She seems cautiously happy to be here,” Tayse remarked. “As if she still thinks she might be dreaming the whole thing, or there might be a monster lurking somewhere in one of the shadows, but otherwise mighty pleased with her new life.”
They talked about Valri. “I’ve guarded some pretty dangerous secrets in my time, but I couldn’t have kept this one for so long,” Senneth confessed. “It makes me respect her more but also fear her a little. What strength of will she has! Anyone with that kind of determination is dangerous.”
They talked about Amalie. “She’s too young to bear the burdens that will be thrust on her if war comes,” Tayse said. “But there’s something unbreakable about her. I would be the first Rider to swear fealty to her if Baryn died.”
They talked about Cammon. “Something happened to him while we were gone,” Senneth said. “And I don’t know what.”
They were on Danalustrous land by now, having survived a very thorough inspection at the border, and needed only half a day to arrive at the Hall. Which is good, Senneth thought, since the wedding is tomorrow.
Tayse gave her a questioning look. “You think Cammon was physically hurt?”
“No. Something struck him to the heart.”
“Something more than the startling revelation about his princess and his enemy?” Tayse said in an ironic voice.
She laughed. “Something more.”
“Why do you think it?”
“Because he avoided me the whole time we were there-once he’d told me his great news, of course. You know Cammon. Usually he’s always underfoot, and even more so if any of us have been absent for any length of time. But we were gone more than two weeks and preparing to ride out again, and we only saw him for a few minutes now and then.”
Tayse reviewed his own recent history. “I hadn’t realized it, but you’re right.”
“And Justin said Cammon avoided him those last few days before you and I got back. And you can always find Cammon somewhere in Justin’s vicinity.”
“Do you think he’s hiding something that he doesn’t want you to discover? That he did something you would condemn?”