“Which are in Talamir’s hands, at least as far as Selenay is concerned. Do him good.” Dethor gave him a little push to send him on the path down toward the salle. “As for your duties as Weaponsmaster, the Court and Collegia are in a week of official mourning. No Council meetings unless there’s an emergency, no Court functions, no classes, no lessons. The only thing on anyone’s plate is planning the coronation, and that is for the Seneschal and Bardic Collegium, not us. Not even Selenay, actually; all she has to do is go through what they plan out for her. For you lot, this is a week of rest.”

“Ah.” He absorbed that with relief—when something that Dethor had said at the beginning of the explanation struck him as odd. “Dethor—Weaponsmaster’s Second, I am, not Weaponsmaster—”

“Not as of today, you’re not,” Dethor said smugly.

“With the Dean’s approval, I just retired, and you are Weaponsmaster.” “Ah—” he said. It was all he could say. He felt completely stunned and utterly blindsided. This, he had not expected!

“Glad you agree,” said Dethor with satisfaction. “Which is just as well, since it’s too late for you to back out. Come along. It’s a shower bath for you, and then bed. Worry about whatever it is you’re going to worry about tomorrow.”

:You might as well surrender now,: Kantor said sleepily. :He still outranks you. Retired Weaponsmaster outranks the current Weaponsmaster.:

And in fact, there was a sweet relief in doing just that, surrendering and letting someone else give the orders. He had never thought he would be comfortable in doing that—but he had never trusted anyone the way he now trusted these friends—these brothers—his fellow Heralds. As they trusted him; had trusted him with the safety and life of their Queen, and their own.

As they had trusted him to go home to Karse—and come out again.

“In your hands, I put myself,” he said, and gave in gracefully to the inevitable.

* * *

“I find it somewhat ironic,” Selenay said, a good two weeks and a bit later, as Alberich stood beside her, on her left. “That one of the first things I do is ask you to keep to your shadow-Grays, and yet circumstances keep forcing you into Whites.”