Lia nodded reluctantly.

“What about all the rogues?” Blaed asked.

Lia rubbed her hands on her trousers. “Gran has an arrangement with all of the rogues in the Tamanara Mountains.”

“Gran?” Blaed and Thera said in unison.

“The Gray Lady is Lia’s grandmother,” Jared said, watching them. “Lia is her successor.”

Thera started sputtering. “You fool. You idiot.” She stopped because Blaed’s response was much pithier and far more creative. She nodded approvingly. “What he said.”

Blaed’s hazel eyes blazed with anger. “Are you sure about getting a Coach that will get us safely to the pass?” he asked Jared.

Jared nodded. “If, for whatever reason, my father turns down the request, I’ll steal the damn thing. We’ll get to Dena Nehele.”

“Do I get any say in this?” Lia muttered.

“No,” Jared and Blaed said.

She gave Thera a dark look. “You’re not being helpful.”

Thera responded with a cool, measuring stare. “You’ve risked yourself and your land’s future to bring some people out of Raej—which really means out of Dorothea’s control. One of those people has been trying to betray you during every step of this journey. The enemy’s remained undetected because he’s linked somehow with Garth. I got that much. It’s ingenious, actually. That link produces a sense of—”

“Wrongness,” Lia whispered.

“Wrongness,” Thera agreed. “Nothing to trace, nothing to detect, no stray thoughts or emotions that might alert someone. All of that is channeled to the one person whose psychic scent is already fouled.” She paused. “I’m with Jared on this. Once the enemy realizes the protection he’s been hiding behind has fallen, he’ll have to bolt or strike. You need a stronger escort than we can give you to get back to Dena Nehele.”

“Wait a minute,” Lia said, sitting up straight.

“No, you wait, Lady.” Thera’s green eyes flashed. “You’ve been the target all along. Not us, Lia. You. Don’t try to deny it. You’ll only sound like a fool.”

Gray eyes clashed with green.

Jared braced himself, not sure what to expect.

Lia lowered her eyes first. Leaning forward, she rammed her fingers into her hair. “How did it go so wrong?” she asked no one.

“Dorothea’s probably asking the same thing,” Thera said dryly.

Lia looked up. “You could go. There’s nothing to hold you. No one will stop you, any of you, from catching the Winds and going home.”

Thera took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “If you make that same offer to everyone here, some, like Tomas and Cathryn, will stay with you because there’s nowhere they’d rather be; some will stay to safeguard Dena Nehele’s future; and one will stay to destroy it.”

Thera took a last sip of whiskey and handed the bottle to Blaed. “I’ve decided I’d like to settle in Dena Nehele and take you up on your offer to finish my training with your mother, if she’ll have me. So I have a strong interest in the land’s future and the Queen who will rule there. Besides, I’m not going to raise my children in a Territory that stands in Hayll’s shadow.”