But there was something else he wanted. Today the king told Jade Eyes to make sure I was happy and stupid. The Tamerlain had told me that Jakoven would present me before his court—no, that wasn’t it.

I stopped abruptly and someone pushed me forward.

Abruptly my forehead broke out with sweat and a flash of heat swept from my feet to my head, robbing my joints of their strength as it passed. I slumped to the floor. The Tamerlain nudged me anxiously.

“What is wrong with me?” I whispered.

“Your body has begun to crave the drugs they fed you,” she said. “I can do nothing for this.”

Jakoven’s men scrambled. From their words I understood that Jakoven had commanded me to be in a presentable condition when I was brought before the court. The only thing he wanted the court to see was that my mind was broken—not my body.

They brought a bucket of water and washed my face with cold, damp cloths, careful not to muck up the clothes. I grabbed the bucket from them and drank to assuage my dry throat. When they helped me to my feet, I let them steady me.

I was weak, so I leaned upon the men who led me, saving my strength for when it was needed. The Tamerlain walked in front of us, pausing every few steps to watch me worriedly. The halls we traversed were unfamiliar, but I was more interested in getting to the stage of Jakoven’s drama than I was in observing the sights. I had acted many roles, but this was going to be the performance of a lifetime—if I could manage it.

My guard stopped before an inconspicuous door, and one of them stepped through it, closing it behind him—but not before I glimpsed the tumult of people in the formal hall. I took a deep steadying breath as I heard Jakoven’s voice, only slightly muffled by the door.

“My lord Duraugh, my chamberlain tells me you have been waiting for some time. We are sorry for it. Please come forward now with your family and receive Our apologies.” There was a pause, and I supposed my uncle was following the king’s directions.

“Well now, Duraugh, what brings you here?”

“I am here, my king, at your bidding and to inquire about my nephew, the Hurogmeten.” My uncle’s voice cut through the closed door as easily as it cut through a battlefield.

And finally I realized the whole of what Jakoven intended. He wanted to present the court with a Hurogmeten who was stupid so they’d see why he couldn’t leave Hurog in my hands. That would leave me in his power. The Tamerlain’s magic had given me the chance to counter his plot.

But my uncleknew I wasn’t an idiot. Without warning of my condition, he might have done something unpolitical—like accuse the king of damaging me.