Traitor's Moon

bothered with a mirror that morning, but the expression on the rider’s face served well enough. Klia murmured something and Ariani withdrew, leaving them alone.
    â€œHow are you, my lady?” he asked, taking the chair next to the bed.
    Her eyes were still deeply sunken, but her cheeks showed more color today. “A little better, I think,” she whispered. “Thero told me—the others don’t know yet. Rhaish—” Tears welled in her eyes and trickled down toward her ears. Alec blotted them with the end of his sleeve, then covered her good hand with his own. A healthy warmth radiated from her skin.
    â€œWill it help us?” she whispered thickly, forcing the words out.
    â€œSeregil thinks so.”
    â€œGood,” she closed her eyes. “Don’t give up. Nothing else matters now. Too far—”
    â€œYou have my word,” Alec assured her, wondering if she understood what Seregil faced.
    Better if she doesn’t
, he decided. He pressed his lips to her hand. “Rest now, my lady. We need you back.”
    She didn’t open her eyes, but he felt the slight, answering pressure of her fingers against his. The feel of it lingered against his skin as he continued on to the hall.
    The others were there ahead of him. The room was crowded with Korathan’s guard and Urgazhi Turma. Craning his neck, Alec spotted Korathan and Wydonis talking with Thero by the hearth.
    â€œThere you are,” Beka said, emerging from the press. She looked nervous. “Are you ready?”
    â€œWhat’s going on?” he asked.
    â€œWord just came from Adzriel. Rhaish is dead. It looks like you and Seregil were right.”
    â€œWhat are they’re saying?” Alec asked, holding relief at bay.
    Before she could answer, Thero waved him over. Leaving Beka to her preparations, he pushed past the soldiers and joined the prince and wizards in the small side chamber.
    Korathan was sipping tea, the delicate Aurënfaie cup all but hidden in his large, callused hand. Regarding Alec over the rim, he said quietly, “You should have reported to me last night. I had to hear it from Klia’s wizard today.”
    Alec met the man’s pale gaze without flinching. “I’m sorry, my lord. I thought—”
    â€œI’m not interested in what you thought. You didn’t help the old bastard along, did you?”
    â€œNo, my lord,” Alec reported. “We—I—” It was too late to wonder just what Thero had told him. “Seregil and I just went to spy. Rhaish í Arlisandin had already poisoned himself when we arrived. We just happened to be there.”
    Korathan gave him another long, unreadable look. “Is there anything else you’ve kept back that I should know about?”
    â€œNo, my lord.”
    â€œThere’d better not be.”
    Setting his cup aside, Korathan turned to the others. “Since you all seem to know what my original orders were, let me make clear to you where we stand now. If Alec and Seregil hadn’t brought the news they did, I’d have carried those orders out. I make no apologies for that. I’m the queen’s brother, and the queen’s man. However, I will confess relief at the way things have turned out. I only hope I can be as convincing as Seregil was that this is a wiser course of action. The best way to do that is to carry out the mission my mother gave you: secure that northern port, and establish a reliable source of horses, steel, and provisions. As Vicegerent of Skala, I will parlay for those as soon as we get this business with Seregil out of the way. I don’t pretend to understand this Iia’sidra of theirs, or how they function without a ruler. I know only that Skala has no time to waste in idle palaver.”
    Rhaish í Arlisandin’s unexpected death delayed Seregil’s trial until late morning. Alec paced the corridors and stable yard, unable to settle to anything. At last, however, he and the others set off for theIia’sidra again. Klia had again insisted on attending, and Thero stayed close beside her litter as she was carried through the streets.
    No crowd greeted them today. Their footfalls echoed loudly as they filed into the chamber and took their place with the Bôkthersans. The galleries were empty except for a few robed rhui’auros and scattered spectators. The Eleven were not yet in their seats.
    One sight held his attention