Traitor's Moon

to his lips, and he gulped down a bitter infusion.
    â€œYou’re trembling,” Alec muttered, helping him up. “How are you going to manage?”
    â€œNot much choice, talí,” Seregil replied. “The worst of it should pass in a day or two. It didn’t bite too deeply, just enough to mark me and make me remember.”
    â€œRemember what?”
    Seregil grinned weakly. “Who I am.”

50
S TANDOFF
    T he ride back to Sarikali seemed endless. Beka and Nyal kept off the main road and steered wide of the little villages they passed. Nyal stopped at one to buy a second horse, leaving her in the trees without comment or warning.
    She was grateful to have her own mount again; the closeness of riding double with Nyal had been more than she could bear. They spoke little during the day and rolled into their blankets on opposite sides of the fire as soon as they’d eaten.
    The entire situation felt ridiculous when she let herself think too much about it. She was, in essence, his prisoner, yet she held all the weapons. Either of them could have stolen away in the night, yet each was there in the morning.
    I need to get back to the city and he’s been ordered to bring me there. That’s all there is to it
, she told herself, ignoring the sad, furtive glances he cast her way.
    They reached the river the following afternoon and reined in at the head of the bridge.
    â€œWell, here we are,” said Beka. “What now?”
    Nyal stared thoughtfully at the distant city. “I must take you to the Iia’sidra, I suppose.Don’t worry, though. You’re Tír. I imagine they’ll just pass you along to Klia. She’s the one who must answer for you.”
    â€œWill you tell them about letting Seregil go?” she asked mockingly.
    Nyal sighed. “Sooner or later I’ll have to.”
    Something in his face brought on another twinge of doubt. If he was telling the truth—
    â€œWe’d better put on a good show,” she said, handing him back his weapons. This brought on another wave of empty regret; he could have taken them from her if he’d really wanted to.
    There was less fuss about her return than she’d expected. They attracted little notice until they reached Silmai tupa. Nyal exchanged a few words with the servant at the khirnari’s door, then stepped back and let Beka enter alone. She could feel him watching her but refused to look back. Squaring her shoulders, she allowed herself to be escorted into the main hall, where Brythir sat waiting.
    The khirnari’s reaction was impossible to read. He simply stared at her for a long moment, then sighed. “I have summoned the Iia’sidra and your own people, Captain. You must answer before them.”
    She made him a deep bow. “As you wish, Khirnari. But please tell me, is Klia alive?”
    â€œYes, and I understand she is improving, though she is still unable to speak.”
    Beka bowed again, too overcome with relief to speak.
    â€œCome.” He motioned her to a chair and put a mug of ale into her shaking hands. “And now you must answer a question for me. Have you returned of your own will?”
    â€œYes, my lord.”
    This seemed to content him, for he asked her nothing more. As soon as she’d finished her ale, they proceeded under escort to the Iia’sidra chamber.
    Here, she found herself facing a far more hostile assembly, although she received nods of encouragement from the Bôkthersans and Akhendi. Sitting in Klia’s place, Thero gave her a slight smile. She hadn’t had a chance to clean up or change out of the bedraggled clothes she’d stolen. She looked every inch a spy, if not a very successful one.
    The Iia’sidra questioned her closely, but she stubbornly refused to say why Seregil left the city or what direction he and Alec had taken. In Skala, such an interrogation might have ended in the torture rooms of Red Tower prison or under the hands of a truth knower. Instead, she was turned over to her own people.
    The only part of her story that had raised eyebrows at all was her assertion that the Akhendi she’d met on the road had meant to kill her. If not for Nyal’s corroboration, she suspected they wouldn’t have believed her at all.
    Rhaish í Arlisandin was understandably upset by this news. “I gave orders for their safe return,” he protested, making his apologies to Thero.
    When it was all