Dorothea crawled back into her chair and straightened her gown. Her lips curved in a sly smile. “She insisted on being the only one, Priestess, wanting you to have her best.” It was the least the little bitch could do, having caused the trouble in the first place.

“You sent for me,” Hekatah said impatiently, then dropped her voice back into the soothing croon. “How can I help you, Sister?”

Dorothea jumped out of the chair and began to pace. “Sadi has gone mad. I can’t control him anymore. If he stays in Hayll much longer, he’ll tear us all apart.”

“Can you use the half-breed to curb him?” Hekatah refilled her glass and sipped the warm blood.

Dorothea laughed bitterly. “I don’t think anything will curb him.”

“Hmm. Then you must send him away.”

Dorothea spun around, hands clenched at her sides, lips bared to show her gritted teeth. “Where? No one will have him. Any Queen I send him to will die.”

“The farther away the better,” Hekatah murmured. “Pruul?”

“Zuultah has the half-breed, and you know those two can’t be in the same court. Besides, Zuultah’s actually been able to keep that one on a tight leash, and Prythian doesn’t want to move him.”

“Since when have you been concerned about what that winged sow wants?” Hekatah snapped. “Pruul is west, far west of Hayll, and mostly desert. An ideal place.”

Dorothea shook her head. “Zuultah’s too valuable to our plans.”

“Ah.”

“We’re still cultivating the western Territories and don’t have a strong enough influence yet.”

“But you have some. Surely Hayll must have made overtures someplace where not all the Queens are so valued. Is there nowhere, Sister, where a Queen has been an impediment? Nowhere a gift like Sadi might be useful to you?”

Dorothea settled into her chair, her long forefinger nail tapping against her teeth. “One place,” she said quietly. “That bitch Queen has opposed me at every turn. It’s taken three of their generations to soften their culture enough to create an independent male counsel strong enough to remake the laws. The males we’ve helped rise to power will gut their own society in order to have dominance, and once they do that, the Territory will be ripe for the picking. But she keeps trying to fight them, and she’s always trying to close my embassy and dilute my influence.” Dorothea sat up straight, her eyes glittering. “Sadi would be a perfect gift for her.”

“And if his temper gets out of control…” Hekatah laughed.

Dorothea laughed with her. “But how to get him there.”

“Make a gift of him.”

“She wouldn’t accept it.” She paused. “But her son-in-law is Kartane’s companion and a strong leader in the counsel—through Hayll’s graces. If the gesture was made to him, how could he refuse?”

Hekatah toyed with her glass. “This place. It’s to the west?”

Dorothea smiled. “Yes. Even farther than Pruul. And backward enough to make him chafe.” Dorothea reached for her cloak. “If you’ll excuse me, Priestess. There are things I must attend to. The sooner we’re rid of him, the better.”