At once he remembered his conversation with her the day before. As her gaze snapped back to him and her eyebrows rose questioningly he realized she wanted him to. I don’t know if she has a lover, he thought at her. Do you?

She smiled and nodded.

He blinked in surprise.

Who?

She shrugged.

He looked away, both disturbed and curious. Imagining someone bedding Auraya was like imagining his daughters engaged in the act with their husbands—not something he was ever comfortable thinking about. Yet he also wanted to know who had caught her attention.

He glanced around the room, but even as he considered the men there he realized it could not be one of them. Mairae could read their minds, so she would know if any of them was Auraya’s lover. So it could only be someone whose mind she couldn’t read—or someone she hadn’t met.

As far as he knew, the White couldn’t read each other’s minds. He looked at Mairae. So it was possible…

Mairae’s eyes widened in horror. She shook her head, a movement akin to a shudder. He smiled. She obviously found the idea of bedding a fellow White appalling, but that did not mean Auraya would. He turned his mind from the possibility anyway, not wanting to cause Mairae discomfort.

If Auraya’s lover wasn’t one of the White, he would have to be someone Mairae never encountered. If that was so, and she was visiting him regularly, he must be in the army.

To his surprise, Mairae shook her head. How could she be sure? She smiled. So someone outside the army, he thought. But close enough for Auraya to visit.

His stomach sank as the possibility he had considered before wormed itself back into his mind.

The Dreamweavers. Leiard.

No, he told himself firmly. They are friends. No more than that.

It made sense that Auraya would visit Leiard. Mairae must be assuming there was more to Auraya’s night excursions than there was. He looked at Mairae. She was frowning, but as he met her eyes she smiled, shrugged and nodded.

Then Juran announced a break for dinner and Danjin sighed with relief. He’d been half afraid Auraya would return and find him speculating about her private life. Hopefully, by the time she saw him again, his mind would be preoccupied with something else.

It had been a long day, but now that Auraya had finally escaped the war council she felt her weariness replaced by a growing anticipation. Soon she would be with Leiard again. All that was spoiling her mood was the absence of Mischief. She had found his cage open when she had returned to her tent. No doubt a servant was being led a chase around the campsite.

She didn’t dare leave without him. He might lead a servant a long way, right up to the Dreamweaver camp. That could prove awkward to explain.