“Because it’s not fair to you and people like you,” she replied frankly. “And I’m not sure they’ll tell you this before it’s too late.” She turned to Jicks. “And you need to talk to Steen, too. Make sure he knows this and what it will mean for him.”

Jicks raised an eyebrow at her. “Isn’t this going counter to what your King wants?” she asked.

“Maybe Stev doesn’t care about non-Valdemarans, but I do,” she replied, feeling just a tiny bit better about what had just gone on. “It’s not fair to the Mages and the people who depend on them to hide what’s going to happen if they accept Valdemar’s offer.”

Later that night, when they had all—even Del—gotten a dinner of Jicks’ stew and some pine-needle tea, Abi made a bed on the other side of the wagon where the carnage wasn’t, while Stev was communing with his Companion, relating everything that had happened today.

Today? It felt as if it had all taken a week. She was exhausted and wanted nothing except to sleep, but the presence of Del meant someone was going to have to watch all night, and she volunteered to take first watch.

Del curled up on a bed of bracken in a borrowed blanket. The rest, except Stev, fell asleep immediately. She kept herself awake by splashing water on her face, wondering if she could ever wash away the smell of blood.

Finally, when her watch was just about over, Stev roused himself and stretched.

“What took so long?” she asked.

She heard the dry amusement in his voice as he replied and knew it would be matched by a slightly cynical smile. “As you can imagine, what I had to say aroused the same sort of reaction you’d get from taking a stick to an ant’s nest. Court Dinner got cut short. An emergency Council meeting was called. There’s going to be an actual trial of Dudley Remp tomorrow, with or without his presence. They’re not letting any grass grow under their feet on this one. I . . . might have neglected to mention that the last Mage is still alive.”

“Why?” Abi asked.

She saw his silhouette shrug. “Taking him North would be torture, and torture is illegal in Valdemar. Jicks is just as wronged as I am, and she’s satisfied with the punishment. Not my Mage, not my country.”

She couldn’t help herself. She had to ask, because his words were so cynical and so dismissive. “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Besides the fact that it’s true?” Silence hung between them for a very long time. “Because Valdemar has limited resources, Abi. Tales about Herald Vanyel aside, what would happen to the people inside Valdemar—people who rely on our aid and protection—if everyone on the other side of a Border came crying to a Herald for help?”