“But the worst part—the worst part was, I knew you were in trouble. I knew you were in danger, I knew you were dying, and I couldn’t get to you.” He swallowed hard. “I couldn’t reach you. You can’t imagine…what that was like.” His voice shook.

Raisa recalled Amon’s voice in her head. Don’t you die, Rai, don’t you give in.

“I think that your father had a premonition,” Raisa said. “It was almost like he knew what would be demanded of him, and he made the sacrifice.”

“It should have been me,” Amon said, blotting his eyes with his sleeve. “I am your captain. I am responsible for your safety.”

“You are responsible for the Gray Wolf line, remember? The line comes first, not the individual queen. Your father saved the line. I need you, Amon. I need a captain. If I’m going to build a queendom out of this mess, I need one person I can trust. I need you to be alive, understand?”

Raisa leaned her head against Amon’s shoulder again. Neither of them said anything for a long while.

“Where is the Wolfpack?” Raisa said. What’s left of them, she added silently.

“Right now they’re assigned to the Queen’s Guard in the capital,” Amon said. “Awaiting orders. I’m hoping they can give us early warning of any plans afoot from the other side.”

“If they are planning Mellony’s coronation,” Raisa said, “what will they do for a captain of the Queen’s Guard?”

“Hmm,” Amon said, frowning, “I hadn’t thought of that. The knowledge about the linking has been kept within our family and the speakers of the temple. Mellony won’t know about it, and the Bayars won’t know, either.”

“It’s always been a Byrne,” Raisa said. “They’ll want everything to seem as normal as possible. They won’t want to provide any excuse to question the succession. Beyond what’s already there, I mean.”

Amon turned his head to look at her. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying don’t be surprised if they offer you the job,” Raisa said. “If it gets that far.”

“No.” Amon shook his head. “There’s no way they would want me next to Mellony. They’ll choose someone more malleable.”

“We’ll see,” Raisa said. “They won’t know you’re already named as my captain. They’re used to working around your father. You’re young, and they don’t know how capable you are.”

“Like I would ever agree to that,” Amon said, sitting up straighter. “Serve as captain to your sister at the request of my father’s murderers.”

“Amon.” Raisa put her hand on his arm. “You’re not supposed to know any of that. When they ask, be ready to say yes.”

“What?” He stared at her.