“Don’t know why we can’t have trees that have nice fruit instead of ornamental ones. . . .” Kat grumbled. “And that makes me hungry.”

You didn’t have to be a Mindspeaker to know what was going to come next. Abi jumped up and offered Kat a hand up, and they both went down to the Collegium dining hall, where it was pocket pie night.

They collected their shares—helpfully marked on the crust so you could tell which kind was which—and went outside, where several Trainees had built a bonfire of windfall just inside Companion’s field. It was already quite dark, and there was just enough of a chill in the air that Abi was glad of the thicker wool of the tunic she’d put on this morning.

It was not the first time that Abi had experienced a feeling of disconnection when sitting down among the Trainees. Here the topics of most passionate discussion were the Kirball teams, who was paired up with whom, and examination results. It all seemed a little unreal, compared to Lady Sussena’s very real troubles, and the excitement of hunting for actual treasure.

Then again . . . who else here has the parents I do? Who else here trained to be Kat’s bodyguard from the time I was old enough to hold a knife?

Kat seemed unusually contented tonight, as she bantered with the others and munched her pocket pies. Then again, as she’d said, she’d finally figured out what she wanted to do—aside from being a Herald, that is. Trey and Niko had always known what they wanted to do, although Abi suspected that either of them would have been just as happy had their roles been reversed. But Kat hadn’t really had a concrete goal in mind. “Problem solver” seemed to suit her.

“So where have you been all this time, Abi?” someone asked from across the fire.

“Oh,” she said, with a little smile. All righty; you aren’t Mags’ daughter without being able to come up with a plausible story that is also actually true in a matter of moments. “An emergency building inspection.”

•   •   •

A very proud Kat rode out with two Guards and Abi three days later to present her solution to Lady Sussena Asterleigh. A sudden frost had turned all the leaves on the trees to brilliant colors overnight, and both of them wore thick wool cloaks against the chill morning air, although by the time they arrived at Asterleigh Manor, they’d been able to roll them up and tie them behind their saddles.