Gwenno arrived back from her patrol that day; Dorrin was in her office, examining accounts, and saw the girl ride in, straight-backed and steady. She counted quickly. No one missing: no need to ask questions yet. Dorrin ran her finger down the page, checking every line. She trusted Grekkan well enough, but the Verrakai domain still bled money, and her reserves in gold had dwindled with frightening speed. So much needed to be done, so many gaps mended.

She turned at a knock on the door frame. Gwenno bowed.

“My lord, could I speak with you?”

“Come in,” Dorrin said. “You look troubled; what is it?”

“Beclan,” Gwenno said. “It’s not fair.”

Dorrin had expected this eventually. “That he’s kirgan?” she asked just to be sure.

“No, my lord. Well, not exactly … It’s not fair what the king did to him, making him give up his family. It wasn’t his fault any more than Daryan’s thumb—”

“It’s different,” Dorrin said. “The king did what he must to protect the Crown and realm.”

“But it wasn’t Beclan’s fault, and he’s punished—”

“He could be dead,” Dorrin said. Gwenno shut her mouth, eyes wide. “By the laws of the land, Gwenno, he could have been charged with treason and executed. Not only was he in the line of succession and showing mage-power, but there was an oath between him and the king—”

“He was too young to swear—”

“He chose to swear as an adult. The king warned him what that would mean. And then—then he admitted his magery. It could not be left as it was, Gwenno. The other peers—the people—would not have accepted that.”

“It could have been a secret.”

“A secret such as my family kept?” Dorrin shook her head. “It would not do. Not so close to the Crown. The king did the best for Beclan he could while doing his duty to the realm.” Gwenno looked thoughtful now. “And though Beclan’s inherent mage ability is not his fault, his choices led him to this end. He knows that; he has admitted that. His grief, Gwenno, is not just that he had to leave his family but that his own choices led to the deaths of all those men … his escort and, later, the guard put around him. He might have gone through life with unwakened magery, with no one—including himself—the wiser.”

“But if Gird waked it—”