Traitor's Moon

range,” Seregil told him. “These mountains are their home; no one knows more about how to survive the snows. This traveler’s lodge has stood here for centuries and probably will forever, with the occasional new roof. The ’faie share the use of it with the local tribes.”
    Though Alec couldn’t understand their language, there was no mistaking the welcoming smiles the Dravnians gave Riagil and the others. Tethering their horses in the stone enclosure, they all trooped up the ramp.
    The upper floor was a single large room with a smoke hole in the center of the floor. Stone stairs followed the curve of the wall down to the lower room, which doubled as hearth room and byre. More Dravnians were at work down there, mucking out from the winter. One of the younger woman waved up at them, flashing a shy smile.
    â€œThat custom you told us about, of having to sleep with their daughters—?” Thero asked nervously, wrinkling his nose at the pungent odors wafting up from below. Seregil grinned. “Only at a home hearth. It’s not expected here, though I’m sure they’d be flattered if you offered.”
    The girl waved again, and Thero retreated quickly, his wizard’s celibacy evidently safe for the moment.
    The evening passed in relative comfort, though the frequent howls that drifted to them on the night wind made Alec and the others doubly grateful for the tower’s thick walls and stout door. The Dravnians, he learned, called this time of year the end of the hungry season.
    Though stark by Aurënfaie standards, the tower was warm and the company good. They traded some of their bread for Dravnian cheese and ended up making a communal meal of it. The evening was passed trading tales and news, with Nyal and Seregil interpreting for the Skalans.
    After several hours, the Ra’basi excused himself and went outside for a breath of air. A few moments later Seregil did the same, giving Alec the surreptitious signal to follow in a moment. Assuming he was offering a brief moment of privacy, Alec counted to twenty, then slipped out after him.
    But Seregil had something else in mind. Just outside the door hetouched Alec’s arm and motioned toward two dark figures barely visible up the trail. “Nyal and Amali,” he whispered. “She went out a few minutes ago and he followed.”
    Alec watched the pair disappear around a bend in the trail. “Should we follow them?”
    â€œToo risky; no cover and these rocks echo every sound. We’ll just sit here and see how long they’re gone.”
    Walking down the ramp, they sat down on a large flat rock by the enclosure wall. Above them, sudden laughter rang out from the doorway.
    They must have found themselves another interpreter
, thought Alec. A moment later he heard Urien strike up a soldier’s ballad.
    Staring out into the darkness, Alec tried without success to gauge his companion’s mood. The further they ventured into Aurënen, the more distant Seregil became, as if he were listening ever more closely to some inner voice only he could hear.
    â€œHow come you never told me about getting captured by the Hâzadriëlfaie?” he asked at last.
    Seregil laughed softly. “Because it never happened, at least not to me. I heard the story from another exile. The bit about collecting the legends was true, and I was homesick enough to consider making the journey, but the man to whom the tale belongs talked me out of it, just as I did you once, if you recall.”
    â€œSo you do think Nyal’s a spy?”
    â€œHe’s a listener. And I don’t like how quickly he’s cozied up to Beka. If you were a spy, what better place to be than at the side of Klia’s protector?”
    â€œSo you gave him a false story?”
    â€œAnd now we wait to see if it resurfaces, and where.”
    Alec sighed. “Will you say anything to Klia?”
    Seregil shrugged. “There’s nothing to report yet. I’m more worried about Beka just now. If he does turn out to be a spy, it will reflect badly on her.”
    â€œAll right then, but I still think you’re wrong.”
Hope you’re wrong
, he amended silently.
    They’d kept watch for perhaps half an hour when they heard the sound of returning footsteps in the darkness. Moving into the deeper shadow below the ramp, they watched as Nyal reappeared supporting Amali with one arm. Their heads were close together