Ioma, who had stood silent, whispered into the pause. “It may be that we have found that knife.”

Kelis stared from him to Sangae, disbelieving his ears. It was not that he disputed that Corinn’s rule was flawed. She had inherited a foul system from Hanish Mein, who had taken it from her father, who had perpetuated the crimes of the generations before him. None of them seemed willing to break the old order of the world. Corinn, perhaps, was more like Tinhadin’s daughter than Leodan’s. She might yet do great harm. But … “Why does this burn like treason in my ears?” he asked.

“Treason is a betrayal of one’s accepted ruler,” Ioma said, “but it is not treason to reject an usurper. In truth, it is a treason to accept a false rule once you know it is false.”

Sinper inched forward on his seat, like an anxious youth. He pointed at Benabe. “Kelis, can you confirm that Aliver was intimate with this woman? You were his closest companion. If they were intimate, you surely—”

“Nobody can confirm what another man does in his tent,” Kelis said.

“Oh, speak truth!” Benabe said. “I remember quite a bit about what you did—and with whom you did it. We weren’t shy back then, were we? You know I lay with Aliver many times.”

Benabe had always had a quick tongue. She was as easy with anger as she was with laughter. That ease was part of what had bothered him about her—that and the fact that Aliver had found the same traits so alluring. He heard himself say, “You weren’t the only one.”

“No, but I did not keep track like you did. If you can name another who was with him, you can likewise name that I was with him.”

Kelis wiped at the heat that suddenly flushed through his face. They would think him bitter, jealous. Perhaps they would be right to think so. He controlled his voice as he added, “I cannot know what happened between these two, but if you ask me what I believe, then, yes, they were lovers.”

This seemed to satisfy Sinper, though he demonstrated that with an expression more like a grimace than a smile. “So we have a witness.”

“Not that we needed one,” Ioma said. “Benabe’s testimony should not be questioned.”

“It will be, though,” Sangae said. “It will be.”

Benabe stared at Kelis so intently that he had to meet her gaze. “Thank you, Kelis. I know you loved him, too. Aliver knew it as well.”

Another flash of heat surged across Kelis’s face. Fortunately, his dark skin did not betray it. Yes, Aliver knew it, but he didn’t return it—not, at least, in the physical manner Kelis would have welcomed. He had always been careful not to betray the true nature of his feelings for Aliver, and he did not want to now. He spoke as if he had not heard her. “A witness to what? I still don’t understand what this is about.”