The King glanced sharply at Simralin, but did not rebuke her. “I suppose he does.” He looked back at the boy. “If you find yourself in real danger or are injured badly, you must release the Elves. If you are trapped and cannot escape, you must release them. If I order you to do so, you must release them. They are not to be abandoned, no matter what. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

The King nodded. His strong face tightened with determination, and he straightened his big frame. “Do you think there might be other demons among us?”

Kirisin had no idea. He hadn’t even considered the possibility, still shaken from discovering that Tragen was one. The suggestion that there might be others still was terrifying.

“I don’t think we can discount the possibility.” Arissen Belloruus paused, seeing the look on his face.

“So I am asking your sister to take personal responsibility for your safety. She will choose a handful of others to help her.” He looked at Simralin. “After Tragen, it will be difficult to know whom you can trust. You couldn’t even trust me until now. I realize that. I gave you every reason not to. But we have to start somewhere.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Simralin promised.

The King gave her a fleeting smile. “I know you will. You will take care of each other. Better than I was able to take care of Erisha.” He shook his head. “I still can’t quite make myself believe that she’s gone. I keep waiting for her to come home.” He rubbed at his face, hiding his eyes. Then he straightened abruptly, exhaling. “I have difficulty imagining what is happening. To leave the Cintra, after all these years. After decades. Centuries. To be threatened like this. To know what lies ahead. Or, more correctly perhaps, not to know, but to be able only to speculate.”

He trailed off. Then he took Ordanna Frae’s arm. “Come with me, First Minister. There are preparations to make.”

Kirisin and his sister watched them go. For a moment, neither spoke. Then Simralin took her brother’s arm. “Come on. Let’s go. Dawn is six hours away. We need to get some sleep.”

Together they stumbled lead-footed from the room.

ELEVEN