On the evening of the third day of the journey, Garranon sat down beside me. He squinted his eyes and looked at two of the men who were putting up a tent with swift efficiency.

“Gods, I’m sorry, Ward,” he murmured in a voice that wouldn’t carry farther than my ears.

“No need,” I said back. “I know whose decision this is.”

We sat for a while more in a surprisingly companionable silence.

“He can’t decide what to do with me,” said Garranon with bitter amusement. Someone else might have thought the comment came out of the blue.

“Jakoven?”

“Jade Eyes is his new favorite.”

I nodded my head. “Does it bother you?”

Garranon laughed. “Not if he would let me go. I have a son, did you know?” He continued without waiting for my nod. “He’s three and I’ve seen him twice. When I request leave to go to my estates, Jakoven says he can’t do without me.”

“Jakoven’s still punishing you for joining Haverness to run the Vorsag out of Oranstone?” It wasn’t really a question.

He shrugged. “I don’t know what he’s doing.” He buried his head in his knees. “I’m not entirely certain he does, either.”

I disagreed. I thought the king knew exactly what he was doing to Garranon, but I didn’t say so.

We stayed there in silence until it was time to sleep. I hope I helped him as much as he helped me keep my panic at bay. Oreg was nearby, but I couldn’t see any way out of this without putting Hurog at war with the king. Maybe my uncle would do better.

ITGREW HARDER TO KEEP UP THE “HAIL, FELLOW, WELLmet” image as we got closer to Estian. The last morning of the journey, General Lawin put iron manacles on my wrists.

“Sorry,” he said, half apologetically, and handed me a water skin.

Feeling sympathy for him, I drank his peace offering. I gave it back to him and he took it gingerly.

He met my eyes squarely and said, “I am very sorry, my lord. I must do my duty.”

Foreign magic, tainted and foul, burned through me, and I realized he hadn’t just been talking about the manacles.

“The water,” I said hoarsely. “Something in the water.” Something more than the herbs my mother had favored.

Two guards, eyes lowered and faces grim . . . I blinked my eyes and they were replaced by two fire demons that clutched my manacles in their clawed hands. I spun, and the demons fell away from me to lie broken on the ground.

The pain of the magic elixir made my arms shake. Sweat ran into my eyes and distorted my vision until everything I saw was blurred in hues of red.

Someone called, “We need help!”