She reached under her circ, then leaned forward and opened her palm. On it rested a white ring. A priest’s ring. Danjin stared at it in surprise.

“You honor me beyond what I deserve,” he said. “But I do not wish to join—”

“It’s not a priest’s ring.” She smiled. “It is what we call a ‘link ring.’” Priests, as you know, can communicate with each other through their rings. They can because they are Gifted, and their rings are simple things. This,” she held the white band, “is more refined and took some time to make. If I need to communicate with you I can, through this. But that is all that it can do. It cannot link you with anyone else.” She held it out to him. “Wear this, and I will be able to speak to you from Si. Don’t lose it. I only have the one.”

He took the ring and held it up. It was plain and smooth, and he could not guess what it was made of. He slipped it onto his finger, then lifted his eyes to meet hers.

“There is one other matter that bothers me,” he told her.

She smiled and leaned back in her chair. “Your concern for me is heartening, Danjin, but I will be in less danger from Pentadrians in Si than anywhere else. It is a remote, sparsely populated place, difficult to traverse. The Siyee would notice and report intruders before they ventured far into their land. Why would any Pentadrian undertake such an arduous journey?”

“To find you,” he replied.

“They won’t know I’m there,” she told him.

“Then…for the same reasons you’re going.”

“The Si haven’t invited the Pentadrians into their land to negotiate an alliance as far as I or the ambassadors know. Nor have the Pentadrians approached any other lands.”

He sighed, then nodded his head in defeat. “So how long will I be at a loose end?”

She chuckled. “You won’t be, Danjin. I’ll be gone for only a few months—though if I’m successful Juran is considering sending me to the Elai. The courier he sent to them has not reported his progress for months.”

“The sea people.” Danjin whistled quietly. “Soon there’ll be no mysteries left in the world.”

A troubled expression crossed Auraya’s face, and she looked away. Mischief stirred. She looked down at him and her smile returned.

“There’s one other matter I wanted to discuss with you, Danjin.”

“Yes?”

“Could you come by each day and spend some time with Mischief while I’m gone? You’ll have to be careful. He’s getting sneaky. I keep finding him crawling around on the outside of the window. I’ve had a lock installed, but he’s already learned to open it, so I’m going to have the window nailed shut while I’m away.”