—I can, Queen. You are clear. Your lips and tongue will not forget the habit of speech. In time, you will remember that you are strong.

Instinctively, Estie wanted to refuse. She was reluctant to rely on the sorceress so intimately. But what else could she do?

Instead of answering the Magister directly, she turned to Crayn.

“We have been unkind to you, Commander. You cannot know what Magister Oblique has said. She urges me to accept an occasional visitor. Later, I may wish to do so. Please inform your men that my needs are changing. Then you must rest.” More softly, she said, “You are essential to me, Crayn.”

Embarrassment complicated his anxiety for her. He paused long enough to mask his concern. Then he bowed and left her, heading for his quarters.

He seemed to take the last remnants of her former life with her. Her chair tilted under her again, and the walls leaned in like threats. They took a long time to recover their balance.

TWENTY-THREE

KILLERS

In silence, Queen Estie finished her meal. Perhaps because she could not hear any of the small sounds she made, she appreciated Magister Oblique’s presence. The sorceress demanded nothing, made no attempt to communicate. She seemed content to sit where she was indefinitely, wearing her gentle smile.

Finally, the Queen said, “Thank you, Magister. I must sleep.”

Oblique touched Estie’s forearm long enough to reply:

—I will remain a while.

Then she sat back in her chair, watching Estie’s efforts to stand and remain steady. Her calm and her smile expressed an assurance that the Queen did not feel.

Estie had imagined taking a bath. She wanted to soak the stains of fear and strain off her skin. They smelled like dried blood. But she found that she could not refuse her bed. Climbing into her blankets, she settled her pillows and tried to believe that she would be able to relax.

As soon as she closed her eyes, her world disappeared. Even her fears uncoiled themselves like serpents and slid away.

When she returned, bathed and dressed, to her sitting room, she found fresh food and drink on the low table, a replenished fire burning warmly in the hearth, and Magister Oblique waiting with Commander Crayn.

Estie stifled a flinch. She had prepared herself to feign composure. After years as Amika’s Queen and Bifalt’s wife, she knew how to conceal herself behind a pleasant demeanor.

The Magister greeted Estie with a gentle smile. Crayn nodded his approval as he stood to take his place by the inner door.

Almost steadily, Estie walked to the table and poured a goblet of water for herself. The table remained in its place. The tapestries on the walls hung straight. She held the goblet with both hands as she drank. When she felt ready, she took a chair beside Oblique.

Testing her courage, she cleared her throat. “You spoke of visitors, Magister.”