They will find Nerra, Lenore said to herself, careful not to say it loud enough that her maids might hear. For now, Finnal and Rodry were rightshe had to focus on this duty. It was a duty, even if it was a pleasurable one. She and the others with her would have to visit every corner of the kingdom, and that would mean traveling every day, to reach places she barely knew about. Not the far north, obviously, where the dead lands around the volcanoes lay, but all of the rest of the kingdom, all of the towns, and probably many of the villages.

Looking out at the people waving and throwing flowers, Lenore didnt think it would be that much of a chore.

They gave her more than that, too. At several spots in the city, her carriage drew to a halt and representatives of the Houses gave her chests that when she opened them shone with gold or stones.

A sign of our loyalty, a young woman from the House of Sighs said as she curtseyed and held out the gift of a necklace strung with the finest pearls.

No wonder they called it a wedding harvest.

As the carriage continued, slowly leaving Royalsport in its wake, Lenore found herself wondering if there shouldnt be more men with it. After all, it already contained as much wealth as she had seen in one place, plus herself and her maids, who were both from noble families.

Thats why were meeting up with Vars, she reminded herself. Her brother would be there to keep her safe. Besides, the sight of more cheering folk along the side of the road told her how foolish her fears were. The people loved her, so what could go wrong?

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

Odd walked around the monastery and tried to work out how long it would be able to hold out once the bulk of the Southern forces put their minds to taking it. It wasnt a pleasant calculation. They wouldnt have brought any siege equipment with them on the ships, and that would buy some time, but not much when the monks were mostly untrained in the arts of walls. Really, all they needed were ladders.

Well need to evacuate, he said to the others walking with him. For the most part, they were younger monks, because he hadnt seen the older ones since the attack. That means that some of us will have to slow them down while we get to

Brother Odd? A young monk ran up to him. The abbot requires your presence, Brother.