“So, so, so. You and I have enough on our plate, I would say, without complicating our lives with this most difficult of Trainees.” Sendar pursed his lips. “Who can we delegate to bring the young fellow over to our side and make him admit to himself that his own leaders didn’t deserve his loyalty?”

“Gerichen,” Talamir said, instantly. “That young Sunpriest. He’s—” He groped for words. “He’s transparent. Eventually, I suppose he’ll learn to mask what he’s thinking, but for now his openness will work for us.”

“All very well, but what about within the Collegium?” Sendar persisted. “We need a Herald—”

“Jadus, I think. He’s taking a turn at instructor this term. And Elcarth. Both of them are so utterly different from anyone Alberich will have encountered before.” He thought for a moment longer. “I’ll have to keep an eye on things, though. The instructors can hardly be expected to act as nursemaids to him. I’d like to assign another Trainee to him, but there just aren’t any that are adult at the moment. I can’t have anyone younger acting as his guide. He’ll resent it—”

Sendar nodded, but Selenay spoke up.

“Make him my bodyguard,” she suggested.

They both turned to stare at her.

“Well,” she said defensively, “if you make him my bodyguard, I can help him to settle in. He won’t be offended, and in fact, he’ll probably be flattered. After all, it isn’t as if a mere Captain would ever be made the personal guard to anyone important in Karse! Making him my guard will show that we trust him, and I think that could be very important in making him trust us. Don’t you think?”

“Actually,” Sendar said slowly. “Yes. I do.”

“And while he’s at it, he can teach me Karsite. Someone ought to know how to speak it.”

:Brilliant,: Taver enthused. :Absolutely brilliant!:

“Even if the rest of the Council will have apoplexy?” Talamir asked dubiously.

Selenay raised her chin. “Yes. And I think you ought to tell them that this was my idea. They might as well get used to the notion that I can think for myself. I’m too old to be chucked under the chin and called ‘little one’ and told not to bother my pretty head about things.”

Which is going to come as a shock to no few of them. Talamir kept his sighs strictly mental. Evidently the gods had decided that he was going to have to make do with fewer candlemarks of rest from now on—because he certainly was not going to leave all of this to the sole attention of Heralds Elcarth and Jadus, worthy though they might be.