“It is,” Padrick said. “A baron can rule as he pleases and do what he pleases. The decrees provide a standard we’re all expected to honor, but no one is naive enough to believe every man with power wields it in the same way. However, this has left the eastern barons who sold themselves to the Inquisitors twisting in the wind, especially after the news that an entire village of women chose death for themselves and their daughters rather than live with the constrictions that had been put on them. The fact that the news traveled so swiftly and couldn’t be contained has also changed things. Any eastern baron who had considered bringing in the Black Coats won’t do it now, at the risk of having his own people turn against him. Those men can’t be counted as allies, but they aren’t enemies. At least, not yet. That leaves the rest of Sylvalan standing against the eastern barons who are controlled by the Inquisitors.”

“Stalemate,” Aiden said.

Padrick shook his head. “I don’t think so. If the Inquisitors had been willing to let us live as we choose, they never would have crossed the Una River. So I don’t think a vote in the barons’ council is going to stop them; it will just change the way they attack.” He ran his finger down the eastern side of the map, from the north down to the southern coast. “They’ve been pushing steadily east and south, always pushing out from a place where a baron has reshaped his county to match the Inquisitors’ demands. From what I can tell, since their return this spring, they’ve concentrated on destroying the witches to eliminate the magic in the Old Places. Or they did until Liam gave them another enemy to focus on.”

“He wasn’t the only baron the Black Coats focused on,” Ashk said softly.

“No, he wasn’t,” Padrick replied grimly. “That was a mistake on their part. They may know of the Fae, but they don’t know the Fae.”

Ashk met Padrick’s eyes for a long moment, then focused on the map. He was right. If the Black Coats had realized what kind of enemy they would awaken by attacking Breton and Bretonwood, they would have kept their distance.

“You think they’re going to attack the baron you helped?” she asked.

Padrick hesitated. “I think if this Master Inquisitor is as intelligent and powerful as he seems, what he’s going to focus on destroying is this.” His finger landed heavily on the map.

“The Mother’s Hills,” Ashk whispered, feeling a chill go through her.