The room had suddenly filled with a clean, pungent scent, as if a wind had carried with it the air of a distant meadow. Binnesman stood tall and straight, glaring at Raj Ahten from under bushy brows. The cuffs and manacles he’d worn now lay at his feet, still firmly locked. It was as if his limbs had merely melted through them.

Though flameweavers lay dazed and wounded at Binnesman’s feet, Iome had felt nothing during the attack. A flower had touched her face, then dropped to the floor, nothing more.

Raj Ahten stared at the herbalist, slightly annoyed, gripped the arms of the throne. “What have you done?” Raj Ahten asked softly, evenly, in the starlight.

“I will not suffer your flameweavers to kill me,” Binnesman said. “I’ve diminished them for a moment, nothing more. Now, you will excuse me, Your Lordship. I’ve much work to do. You wanted herbs for your armies?” Binnesman turned to leave.

“Is it true that you back King Orden? Will you fight beside him?”

Binnesman gave the Wolf Lord a sidelong glance, shook his head as if appalled. “I do not wish to fight you,” Binnesman intoned softly. “I have never taken a man’s life. You are asleep to the powers of the earth, Raj Ahten. The great tree of life arches over you, and the leaves of it whisper to you, but you do not hear them rustle. Instead, you merely sleep among its roots, dreaming of conquest.

“Turn your thoughts to preservation. Your people need you. I have great hope for you, Raj Ahten. I would call you friend.”

Raj Ahten studied the old wizard a moment. “What would it take for you and I to become friends?”

Binnesman said, “Swear an oath to the earth, that you will not harm it. Swear that you will seek to preserve a seed of humanity in the dark season to come.”

“And what do you mean by these oaths?” Raj Ahten asked.

“Divest yourself of the flameweavers who desire to consume the earth. Value life—all life, plant and animal. Eat from plants without destroying them, harvest only the animals you need. Waste no creature, either animal or man. Turn your armies back from this war you have initiated. There are reavers on your southern borders. Your struggle should be with them.”

For a long time, Raj Ahten sat on the throne, simply staring at Binnesman. During that moment, a servant rushed in with a fresh lantern from the anteroom, so that it illuminated the Wolf Lord’s face. He appeared thoughtful.

Iome could see the longing in Raj Ahten’s eyes, and almost she believed he would take the oath.