Magister Oblique said a word to the librarian. Magister Threnody frowned uncomfortably, but she gave her consent. Oblique repeated it for the Queen.

—Four.

The librarian sighed. Her companion repeated:

—Yes, four. But one I dismiss. He is Tak Biondi. He became Magister Marrow’s personal servant. Magister Rummage disapproved. He considers Tak Biondi impertinent. But the librarian enjoyed the young man’s manners. For many reasons, they spent hours together. I cannot believe that Tak Biondi contrived Magister Marrow’s death.

Tak Biondi? Estie had heard that name before, but she did not try to recall where or when. Without warning, new possibilities changed her world. While Magister Threnody spoke and Magister Oblique tapped, Estie’s inner doors shifted, opening abruptly, or opening on new rooms.

Here, she thought. Here was her chance to be of use.

As if she were shouting, she said, “Tell me. When did he join your service?”

Oblique repeated Beatrix Threnody’s reply.

—A year ago? Perhaps a little less.

Queen Estie nodded, putting that detail in its place.

“And the others?”

The librarian answered with more confidence.

—One is a student. He wishes to be an apprentice of warfare. While Magister Rummage is consumed by other concerns, he seeks to educate himself.

—Another is a scullion. His only explanation is that he has an appetite for knowledge. He has read books of every description, from shipbuilding to the language of flowers.

—The last I am inclined to dismiss also. She is an old woman, Harlinea, who came to us as a girl. She married here, had children here. Her family works for us as well. She began as a servant. Now she is a teacher of servants. If she wished to make poisons or gunpowder, she could gather what she needed easily. But I cannot imagine any cause that would tempt her to murder.

—Still, I am left with the scullion and the student of warfare.

Queen Estie suppressed her impulse to ask what other books these four had read. The librarian might need days to find an answer among Magister Marrow’s memories. Instead, she inquired, “You have truth-seekers among your people. Have they examined your suspects? All of them?”

Magister Threnody nodded.

—Yes, Queen. One apprentice studies the sorcery of sound. Her gift exceeds her teachers. She knows both truth and lies when she hears them.

“And what does she say?”

The librarian sighed again.

—She reports that all four are honest. She heard no lies.

That surprised Queen Estie a little. She had expected more. But she had already imagined an explanation. If the sorcery of sound could recognize truth, in another form it might also disguise falsehood.

For the first time in days, she felt ready for what was coming.

“Your Apprentice has a gift for sorcery. Surely, then, she is sensitive to sorcery in others. Did she find any hint of it in her search?”

The librarian betrayed a flash of irritation as Magister Oblique repeated her answer.