Traitor's Moon

grandson’s murderer here. Can the Tír be such fools?”
    â€œIt’s an affront to all Aurënen,” Ulan agreed, never letting on that he had voted in favor of Seregil’s temporary return.
    Rhaish í Arlisandin slipped an arm about his young wife’s waist and kissed her as they walked slowly toward Akhendi tupa.
    â€œYour journey has agreed with you, talía. Tell me your impressions of Klia and her people.”
    Amali toyed with the amber amulet lying against his chest. “The Skalan princess is intelligent, forthright, and honest. Torsin í Xandus you know. As for the others?” She sighed. “As you saw, poor Alec is a child playing at being a man. Ya’shel or not, he is so innocent, so open, that I fear for him. Thank Aura he is of no real importance. But the wizard—he’s a strange, deep fellow. We must not underestimate him, in spite of his youth. He will not show his true powers.”
    â€œAnd the Exile?”
    Amali frowned. “He’s not what I expected. Under that respectful manner lies a proud, angry heart. He’s grown too wise for his years among the Tír, and from what my men picked up among the Skalans, there’s more to him than meets the eye. It’s fortunate that his goals are the same as our own, but I don’t trust him. What doesthe Iia’sidra say of him? Will his presence here present an obstacle?”
    â€œIt’s too soon to say.” Rhaish walked on a moment in silence, then asked blandly, “And what of young Nyal í Nhekai? Such a long ride must have given you opportunity to renew your acquaintance.”
    Amali colored. “We spoke, of course. It seems he’s quite taken with Klia’s red-haired captain.”
    â€œIs that jealousy, talía?” he teased.
    â€œHow can you ask such a thing?”
    â€œForgive me.” He pulled her closer. “Besotted with a Tírfaie, you say? How extraordinary! That could prove useful.”
    â€œPerhaps. I think our hope is well placed in Klia, if she can impress the Iia’sidra as she has me. She must!” Amali sighed, pressing a hand to the slight swell of her belly where their first child was growing. “By Aura, so much depends on her success. May the Lightbearer’s favor lie with us.”
    â€œIndeed,” he murmured, smiling sadly at the strong faith of youth. Too often it was the god’s will that men make their own favor in the world.

11
S ETTLING I N
    A lec’s heart sank a little when Adzriel pointed out their guest house. Tall, narrow, and topped with some sort of small, open-sided structure, the house loomed ominously against the late-afternoon sky.
    Inside, he found little to alter his opinion. Though well appointed and staffed by smiling Bôkthersans, the place had a shadowed, oppressive feel—not at all like the airy comfort of Gedre.
    What in the world makes them think this place is beautiful?
he wondered again, but kept his opinions to himself as Kheeta guided them through the house. The warren of dimly lit rooms were stacked at odd levels and connected by narrow corridors and galleries that seemed to all slant to some disconcerting degree. Interior rooms had no windows, while the outer ones opened onto broad balconies, many without the privacy of draperies or screens.
    â€œYour Bash’wai had an interesting concept of architecture,” Alec grumbled to Seregil, stumbling over an unexpected rise in a passageway.
    The interior walls were crafted of the same patterned stone as the outer ones. Accustomed to the rich murals and statuary of Skala, it struck Alec as odd that a people would leave no pictorial record of their daily life.
    A large reception hall took up much of the ground floor. Smaller rooms behind it were appointed for private use. At the back lay several bathing chambers and an enormous kitchen that overlooked a walled stable yard. This was flanked on the right by the stables, and to the left by a low stone building that would serve as a barracks for Beka’s turma. A back gate let out onto an alley between this house and Adzriel’s.
    Klia, Torsin, and Thero had rooms on the second floor. Alec and Seregil had a large room to themselves on the third. Cavernous despite the colorful Aurënfaie furnishings, its high ceiling was lost in shadow.
    Alec discovered a narrow staircase at the end of the hallway and followed it up to a flat roof and the octagonal stone