“You understand the murky ground we tread on, then,” Barad eventually said, cutting in. “If Corinn declares to the masses that she has abolished the quota trade, they will hail her as a savior. She’ll put the scholars to work writing new volumes of the Akaran myth. She will tell the people that she has delivered on the Snow King’s promises, and the people will eat the lie. They will not believe—or care—unless we could take every one of them to see the place. Obviously, we cannot do that.”

Barad let this sit a moment, shifting his eyes from one to another. “That is why time is of such importance. We should announce the uprising before the winter sets in. I proposed we rise at the beginning of the harvest. We spoke of this before. What better time, when the world sees the fruits of a year’s labor seized and taxed by Alecia? I mean, we rise at the beginning of this year’s harvest, just four months from now. We cannot wait longer, not with the queen spinning magic and the league about to start this slave factory. This is our time. Do any doubt me?”

None seemed to, but Elaz did offer, “There will be many details to see to before then.”

“Yes. Yes there will. Let us not fear details. Let us make them our friends instead. For one, there is the issue of the queen and what she is doing. Has she the book of sorcery? If so, what other powers might it give her? And what powers would it rob from her if we took it?”

“Barad, we don’t have anyone to answer those questions,” Elaz said. “We had an agent within the palace—a maid I had great faith in—but she has gone missing. And we should not forget the blacksmith of the lower town. He was caught outright with an unfortunate document in his hand. He died to keep our secrets. And even they had no real access to the queen. She is not easy to get to, especially not when in spying on her we’re always at risk of bumping into the league—who are doing the same with all their considerable resources. At present we are blind—”

Barad interrupted. “What if we send the young king?”

Elaz froze. “Grae?”

The king, who had been considering the selection of carrots before him, snapped to alertness. “Me? You want me to spy on the queen?”

“You are due to visit Acacia, aren’t you? Drop in on them now. You would be received as befits your royal status. You can get yourself and your servants into areas of the palace we could not gain. You would arrive with a particular purpose, of course, one that would get you close to the queen.”

The young man looked startled for a moment, but then resumed a calm air. Plucking up a thin carrot, Grae considered it from several angles before he crunched down on the root. He spoke while he chewed. “And what purpose is that?”