It was astonishing how Dorian had blundered into success. He’d kept Hopper in the throne room the day he had seized power. The Vürdmeisters had come into the room and had seen not only a fearless Dorian, but Hopper off to one side, tacitly endorsing him. How much weight had that carried?

Dorian suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He suspected it was a lot.

He looked again at Pricia’s body dangling in the room. Death was so common here that life wasn’t considered sacred. Or did the cause and effect run the other way?

“What is your name, Hopper? Your real name.”

“I was ordered to forget—I’m sorry, sire, my name was Vondeas Hil.”

“I thought Clan Hil was annihilated.” Garoth had used the krul to wipe them out.

“The Godking saved me from . . .” he hesitated. “From the fleshpots. He thought I had potential. I did my best to prove him right.”

The fleshpots. So the krul and their feeding habits were no great secret.

“Vondeas Hil, I will remember your name and the sacrifices you have made. Will you serve me as the Chief of my Hands?”

Vondeas bowed low.

“I have questions for you. Where are my two hundred missing Vürdmeisters?”

“Vürdmeister Neph Dada sounded a religious summons when His Holiness your father died. He called all Vürdmeisters to help him bring Khali home. Currently, your Hands believe them to be in your eastern lands.”

Eastern Khalidor was sparsely populated. There were no major cities there, and hadn’t been since Jorsin Alkestes had turned Trayethell into Black Barrow. “They’re at Black Barrow?” Dorian asked.

“In its vicinity, at least. We don’t know the exact location. Spies who’ve attempted to infiltrate the camp haven’t returned.”

Well, that at least was one problem that could wait. Meisters and magi, Vürdmeisters and archmagi had been smashing themselves against Black Barrow for centuries. Neph Dada at the head of two hundred Vürdmeisters was a serious problem, but at least Dorian would have until spring to consolidate his forces—and Neph wouldn’t bother putting together an army. All Dorian’s former tutor cared about was magic. Still, it was a problem that bore looking into.

“Redouble your efforts. I want to know what they’re trying, and what—if anything—they’ve accomplished.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“How many aethelings are completing their uurdthans?”

“Seventeen that I know of.”

“How many of those are in a position to form a credible threat to me in the next six months?” Dorian asked.