“To Hell with how you do things! Do you think anyone dares Censure him? As far as the baron is concerned, anyone against him is automatically with the witches. That’s all the excuse he needs to have his men strike us down. He won’t step down from power. If Kalazan’s prophecy is right about you—”

“Wait.” Janel raised a hand. “What of Kalazan’s prophecy? This business with the ‘claimed child’?”

“Oh, hell if I know,” Ninavis admitted. “Kalazan talks like it’s the cure for every problem we have. He overheard Tamin and his teacher talking about it, before the old baron’s death. How this prophecy predicted someone called the demon-claimed child would ruin everything. They needed to track this person down. That’s why Tamin’s so obsessed with fighting demons. Tamin thinks the demons are leading him to this ‘child’—who will kill Tamin if Tamin doesn’t kill him first.”

“I won’t murder Tamin.”

“So you are the demon-claimed child? Because that sounded like a confession.”

Count Janel ignored her and turned to the other two people in the dungeon. “Brother Qown, Mare Dorna, can you smuggle Ninavis to our quarters?”

“They’ll see me.” Ninavis pointed to her face. “This is distinctive.”

“Ha, found it!” Dorna lifted a small tin from the guard’s pockets. She unscrewed the lid, revealing the gray cake makeup the guard must have used to paint his face. “Give me five minutes and your own nana wouldn’t recognize you. Then it’s just getting you back with a bad leg, but I reckon we can manage.”

“What about him?” Ninavis indicated the unconscious guard.

“Drag him behind those crates,” Dorna suggested. “That buys us at least a few hours’ head start, before the other guards find him. We should have a good solid lead on any pursuit the baron organizes by then.”

“We’re not leaving.”

Dorna sighed at Janel. “Foal—”

“We’re not leaving,” Janel repeated, looking her true age for a moment, a sullen teenager about to stomp her feet. “I promised these people if they surrendered, they’d be treated fairly. I refuse to flee as long as there is a chance Tamin will trample my word.”

Ninavis pursed her lips and looked Janel over. “You might just be worth something after all, little noble.”

Brother Qown hid his smile. It wasn’t an occasion for smiling even if he felt pleased by this result. “How will you discover Tamin’s plans?”

Janel straightened her shoulders. “By the simplest method possible: I shall ask.” She gave the three a stern gaze. “Wait in my chambers. I’ll return once I have more information.”

She left before they could lodge a single protest.