“Not a scratch on either,” she replied. “Hadrian turned command of the Nationalist army over to a man named Renquist—one of the senior captains—and left the morning after the battle. I’m not sure where to.”

“Did you have a chance to talk with him?”

She nodded. “Yes, I told him about my brother. Arcadius, do you know where Degan is?”

“Me?” He looked surprised. “No. The seret have him, I’m certain of that, but where is anyone’s guess. They have gotten a whole lot smarter recently. It’s like Guy has sprouted another head, and this one has a brain in it.”

“Do you think they killed him?”

“I don’t know, Miranda.” The wizard paused, regretting his curt words, and looked at her sympathetically. “It’s hard to fathom the imperial mind. We can hope they want him alive. Now that we’ve unleashed Hadrian, there’s a good chance that he and Royce will save him. It could even be that Esrahaddon will connect the dots and send them.”

“Esrahaddon already knows,” Miranda said. “He’s been with Degan for months.”

“So he found out. Excellent. I thought he might. When he visited Sheridan, it was obvious he knew more than he let on.”

“Maybe he and Hadrian are looking together—planned a place to meet up after the battle?”

The wizard stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Possible … probable, even. So those two are off looking for your brother. What about Arista? What is she doing?”

Miranda smiled. “She’s running the city. The citizens of Ratibor were ready to proclaim her queen of Rhenydd, but she settled for mayor pro tem until elections can be held. She intends to honor Emery’s dream of a republic in Rhenydd.”

“A princess establishing the first republic in Avryn.” Arcadius chuckled. “Quite the turn of events.”

“The princess has cried a lot since the battle. I’ve watched her. She works constantly, settling disputes, inspecting the walls, appointing ministers. She falls asleep at her desk in City Hall. She cries when she thinks no one is looking.”

“All that violence after so privileged a life.”

“I think she might have been in love with a young man who was killed.”

“In love? Really? That’s surprising. She’s never showed an interest in anyone. Who was he?”

“No one of note—the son of the dead bodyguard to King Urith.”

“That’s too bad,” the wizard said sadly. “For all her privilege, she’s not had an easy life.”

“You didn’t ask about Royce,” she noted.