Zezili shrugged. “It was a long time ago. Before I took up fighting. I made a few in my youth. Not well. They are worthless like this, though. I can’t channel any of Rhea’s daughters, the satellites, so you can’t see some foreign place through them or see yourself better than you are. They’re just dead things. Not of much use for military operations.”

Hofsha and Monshara exchanged a look. It was brief. Not friendly. But knowing.

“If you were gifted, you could,” Hofsha said.

“What a stupid thing to say,” Zezili said. “I don’t like senseless chatter. I thought we had a much larger campaign planned, so my second, Syre Jasoi, is on her way to assist in discussion of strategy.”

“We’ve already settled on strategy,” Monshara said.

Hofsha said, “You’re to act as Monshara’s second in this matter. She has created a plan for dissolving the camps. I trust you will obey her in all things.”

“You trust I… what? You’re foreigners. You know nothing of this place or its people.”

Hofsha stood and clapped her hands loudly. “Good! That’s settled.”

Daolyn arrived with the tea. She hesitated in the doorway.

“Thank you,” Hofsha said, “I have other matters to attend. I expect you’ll both get on well.”

“I need to discuss this with the Empress–” Zezili said.

“You’re welcome to it,” Hofsha said. “Until then, Monshara, I expect you’ll handle this all admirably, as our sovereign would expect.”

Monshara just looked at her. Zezili found she could not read the expression at all. Annoyance? Anger?

Daolyn set the tea on the low table and escorted Hofsha out.

Zezili let the silence stretch between her and Monshara. Monshara gazed at the mirror again.

“Your force is five thousand?” Monshara asked.

“Give or take. We have a few out with blue fever this time of year.”

“Well, we won’t need that many.” Monshara pushed the tea tray aside. She pulled a leather case from her shoulder. Removed a map. She pinned the map to the table with the empty cups. It was a map of Dorinah, with each of the dajian camps marked in red.

“My people have refrained from alerting the camp officials of our intent, of course,” Monshara said. “With a campaign like this, rumor will travel quickly. That’s why I chose the camp here, in Saolyndara, first. It’s the largest.”

“Has the Empress addressed what will happen to our labor here, with the dajians dead?” Zezili asked. “This seems like a very dramatic move, without precedent.”

“It’s of no consequence,” Monshara said.

“Without dajians to–”

“It was my understanding that you had a head for killing, not governing,” Monshara said. “If your people can’t handle this–”

“My people know how to put down a dajian,” Zezili said. “I just want it known that I’m not wasting time on some slippery dog chase.”