Traitor's Moon

the same with all the men of my clan.”
    Beka raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t see any women among the honor guard. Are they not allowed to be soldiers?”
    â€œAllowed?” Nyal considered this for a moment. “There is no allowance necessary. Most simply choose not to. They have othergifts.” He paused, lowering his voice. “If I may be so bold, I had not expected Skalan soldier women to be so pretty.”
    Normally Beka would have bristled at such a statement, but the words were said with such earnestness and obvious goodwill that it took the edge off. “Well—thanks.” Anxious to change the subject, Beka looked around at the white buildings that lined the streets. They were topped with low domes instead of a pitched roof; the shape reminded her of a bubble clinging to a block of soap. None were more than two stories high and most were unadorned, except for a piece of dark, greenish stone set into the wall by the front door.
    â€œWhat are those?” she asked.
    â€œSacred stone from Sarikali, a talisman to protect whoever lives within. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you are pretty?”
    Facing him this time, Beka pursed her lips into a stern line. “Only my mother. It’s not the sort of thing that matters much to me.”
    â€œForgive me, I meant no offense.” Nyal’s eyes widened in dismay and the way the slanting light struck the irises made Beka think of pale leaves lying at the bottom of a clear forest pool. “I know your language, but not your ways. Perhaps we can learn from each other?”
    â€œPerhaps,” Beka told him, and to her credit, her voice did not betray the undisciplined pounding of her heart.
    The Gedre horsemen formed an honor guard for Klia and the Aurënfaie dignitaries as they rode out from the town and up into hills scattered with farms, vineyards, and deep-shaded groves. Drifts of fragrant purple and red flowers grew thickly in the coarse, pale grass along the roadside.
    Alec and Seregil rode with Thero and the other aides just behind Lord Torsin. It felt good to have Windrunner under him again after so many days at sea. The glossy Aurënfaie gelding tossed his head, scenting the wind as if he recognized his homeland. Seregil’s black mare, Cynril, was doing the same. Both horses drew admiring glances, and Alec, who seldom gave thought to such things, was suddenly glad of the impression they made.
    â€œWho’s the Ra’basi, I wonder?” he murmured, nodding toward a man riding beside Beka at the head of the column. What Alec could see of the fellow’s face from this angle made him curious to see the rest.
    â€œHe’s a long way from home,” said Seregil, who’d also taken note of the stranger. “Beka seems rather taken with him, don’t you think?”
    â€œNot really,” Alec replied. The Ra’basi was obviously trying tomake conversation, but her responses came mostly in the form of terse nods.
    Seregil chuckled softly. “Wait and see.”
    In the distance ahead, snow-covered peaks gleamed against the flawless blue of the spring sky. The sight brought Alec an unexpected pang of homesickness; “The Asheks look a lot like the Ironheart Range around Kerry. I wonder if the Hâzadriëlfaie felt the same when they first saw Ravensfell Pass?”
    Seregil pushed a windblown lock of hair out of his eyes. “Probably.”
    â€œWhy did those Hâzad folks leave Aurënen?” asked Sergeant Rhylin, riding on his left. “Even if this is the dry edge of the place, it’s better country than anyplace I’ve seen north of Wyvern Dug.”
    â€œI don’t know much about it,” Seregil replied. “It happened over two thousand years ago. That’s a long time, even for the ’faie.”
    The Ra’basi stranger appeared out of the press and fell in beside them.
    â€œForgive me for intruding, but I could not help overhearing,” he said in Skalan. “You are interested in the Hâzadriëlfaie, Seregil í Korit?” He paused, looking abashed. “Seregil of Rhíminee, I meant to say.”
    â€œYou have me at a disadvantage, Ra’basi,” Seregil replied with a sudden coldness that sent a warning shock through Alec. “You know the name taken from me, but I don’t know the one you carry.”
    â€œNyal í Nhekai Beritis Nagil Ra’basi, interpreter for Princess Klia’s