“I saw how upset you were,” Ninavis whispered as she watched the men go, “when you saw the duke’s people kill that man on the bridge. I don’t know whether he had it coming, but I know my people deserve better than to be run down like dogs. I shouldn’t have to pretend to be Joratese to be treated right. I don’t think Janel really understands. You do. At least, you’re trying.”

“There must be something we can do. Some way we can convince them to stop fighting each other.”

“Yeah, I’ve been wondering about that,” Ninavis mused. “I used to think it would be impossible. That we Marakori would never give up our feuds, but I’m not so sure anymore. Symbols can be so powerful. All the clans have always known that, but we all had our own special symbols, our own god-kings, to wrap around ourselves and use to feel special. We flocked to those. Hell. The Joratese are really just another Zaibur Basin god-king clan, when you think about it. What we really need is a symbol we can all rally to. Something more than Joratese, Diraxon, Agari, or any of the rest.”

“But what?”

Ninavis shrugged and grinned. “Not sure yet. If you figure anything out, let me know.” She hopped to her feet. “Come on. The mob should be down the street by now. Let’s get you back to the pasture.”

26: THE GREAT TOURNAMENT OF CHALLENGES

Jorat Dominion, Quuros Empire. Three days since Teraeth failed to kill a mimic

Janel looked Ninavis in the eyes. “I really am trying to understand, you know.”

The older woman shrugged. “Yeah, I know. But at the time…”

“I had no idea what the Royal Houses were doing in Marakor,” Kihrin said.

“Why would you?” Ninavis traded out her liquor for more water. “It’s not like the Royal Houses are going to walk around saying, ‘Hey, did you know we’re trying our damnedest to enslave an entire dominion? So much profit to be made. It’s working out really well for us.’”

Dorna chuckled. “At least, it was.”

Janel nodded. “There’s that. Pity people keep disappearing off the plantations. So unfortunate.”

Kihrin stopped and looked at the three women. “Wait. What are you … what are you saying?”

“That depends,” Ninavis said. “How loyal are you to House D’Mon?”

“I’m not,” Kihrin said. “Believe me, there’s no love lost there.” He paused a minute, frowning. “Although it occurs to me I should at some point check to see if I’m Lord Heir or if Galen is…” Kihrin shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not returning.”

“Okay, so what we’re doing is—” Nina paused as Janel put her hand on the other woman’s.