She gripped the ring, hesitating a moment as her fingers felt the cold of his hand. Then she twisted it free. Returning to Kolby, she touched the gem to the lid. The top popped up. Lifting it, she revealed a very old and quite ugly ram’s horn. They all stared at it for a moment, then Farilane closed the lid, as if having it open for too long was dangerous. She then presented the ring and the box to her father. “I think Sephryn’s idea was a good one, but it’s up to you now to decide what to do with these.”

“You don’t have to stay here, you know.” Farilane told Kolby, as the knight continued to stand just inside the door to her chambers, not far from where Kile had once stood—Kile, whom she still hadn’t seen or heard from since he fled with all the urgency of needing to catch a boat. I shouldn’t be here . . . I’m not your friend.

“It’s no bother, Your Highness.”

Endeavoring to work at her desk, Farilane found her concentration repeatedly broken by the knight’s slightest movements, her myr sight and hearing being as much a curse as a blessing.

“You’ve been standing for hours. You haven’t eaten. And your legs must be tired.”

Kolby shrugged. “I’m fine.”

The princess, who had been trying to write, paused and put her pen down. She turned, placed an elbow on the corner of her desk, careful to avoid toppling the ink pot, and faced Kolby. “There are other knights, aren’t there? I distinctly recall meeting a few. And you hold some rank among them, isn’t that correct? Why not post someone else here while you eat and sleep?”

“What is it you’re doing?” Kolby asked.

Farilane frowned. “You think me so feeble that I can’t tell you’re changing the subject?”

“No, but I know you love to talk about your work.” He smiled.

“Smarter than you look, Kolby.”

He waited.

Farilane sat back, and holding her arms out with palms up, she presented the tome on her desk. “This is my life’s work: The Migration of Peoples. It’s an accurate history of the world, and in many ways, it’s quite similar to this manuscript, The Book of Brin.” She pointed to the leather-bound codex, which was also on her desk.

“The one you’ve been looking for?”

“Yes, but it turns out there’s another one, a better one: The Second Book of Brin.”

“I suppose you want that, too?”