When she had first arrived in the Last Repository, her rooms had felt cold, chilled by the imponderable mass of stone around them. The heat from her hearths had been barely adequate. But those fires had been burning for days. Now her sitting room seemed too warm. Perspiration made her gown cling to her skin. She pined for a window to let in a little fresh air.

What was happening in the Open Hand? In Belleger?

Were any of the people she had left behind still alive?

The sound of a knock on her door made her flinch.

At once, Crayn went to open the door. Then he stepped aside to admit Magister Oblique and Magister Bleak.

Queen Estie had not seen the man for days, but she knew him by his bald head with its solitary thatch of hair and his extreme thinness. The look of distance in his eyes had not changed.

She stood as if she had been jerked to her feet. Unsteadily, she gestured a welcome. “Forgive me, Magisters,” she began. “I did not expect you. Can I offer something to refresh you? Commander Crayn will ask for whatever you desire.”

Magister Oblique produced her best smile. “Thank you, no, Queen. We do not mean to linger.”

As if Oblique had not spoken, Magister Bleak said, “Some ruby wine, yes. At their best, our efforts are thirsty work.” He had a singer’s voice which he used as if he were rehearsing a tune. “They are far from their best now. We struggle to weave our visions into a single tapestry. It is like trying to see with eyes that do not belong to us. At inconvenient times, even the strongest of us must eat or sleep. I need wine.”

Without waiting for an invitation, he moved to the nearest chair, dropped into it, and covered his eyes with his hands.

An apology twisted Magister Oblique’s smile.

Quietly, Crayn stepped out into the hallway. Estie heard him murmur a few words to a waiting servant. When he returned to his place, he left the door ajar.

The sorceress did not sit until Queen Estie, flustered, resumed her seat. Then Magister Oblique took a chair beside Magister Bleak.

While the Farsighted kept his eyes covered, Oblique explained, “I expected Magister Bleak to be brief, Queen. But he understands your plight. He will answer it in his own way.

“Forgive me if I repeat myself,” she added. “I must remind you that the Farsighted see. They do not hear. That lack forces them to interpret events by inference.

“Master Set Ungabwey and the el-Algreb we know, of course. Commander Forguile spent a season or more among us. King Bifalt, Elgart, and General Klamath we have met, if only for a short time. Others Magister Facile described to us, primarily the King’s brothers. In other cases, Magister Bleak cannot be specific.”