It must have come as a distinct shock to him, seeing her here, seeing her being briefed instead of being sent to a tent to rest. It’s one thing to see “the child” sitting at a Council table, it’s quite a different thing to see her sitting here. After all, just because Selenay had a Council seat, it didn’t follow that she was truly a part of the Council’s deliberations. The seat could have been nothing more than show, for certainly Selenay’s vote went with her father’s every time. Given Orthallen’s patronizing attitude toward the Heir, the shock of realizing that she was a power to be reckoned with and had a mind of her own must have been unpleasant. But was it unpleasant enough to cause that particular kind of frown? It hadn’t been the look of a man surprised and a little offended; it had been the expression, calculating and angry, of one who had not realized that there was a roadblock to his plans. Or so Alberich thought, but everything he thought he’d observed was all in retrospect, for the expression hadn’t been there more than a moment. It was distinctly frustrating not to be able to quantify his feelings, but since he’d been working in the slums of Haven, his instincts had sharpened, and he’d come to depend on what they told him.

Therefore, he would keep an eye on Lord Orthallen.

So he delegated a portion of his mind to doing just that, and turned the rest of his attention back to the briefing that Sendar was getting. The Lord Marshal and his Herald Joyeaus were getting to the end of things Alberich already knew, and they looked as if there was more to say. A great deal more. And that it was bad news.

“The ForeSeers are reporting difficulty, Majesty, as are the FarSeers,” Herald Joyeaus said. Her thin face was set in an expression of solemn thoughtfulness, for this development was something new—though not unexpected, at least, not to Alberich. The fact was, he was surprised that it had taken so long for the Tedrels to block attempts to FarSee what they were doing. Possibly they had not realized that the Heralds could do such a thing with the amount of accuracy they had. Possibly they had been blocking attempts to scry magically, and had not until now reckoned on the Gifts. Possibly they had been saving their mages for this moment.

Or possibly it had taken them this long to buy or coerce magical expertise…

It seemed to take the rest by surprise, though, all but the Lord Marshal, who looked grim. “Exactly what do you mean by ‘difficulty,’ Joyeaus?” Sendar asked.