“They will not.” I surprised myself by interrupting. “Many live in fear of him as much as you do—even more so. The next in line to the throne is a distant cousin, Jakova of House Gansla. He is a moderate, and wise for his age. I do not know if he is keen on accepting the crown’s burden, but at the very least, he will listen to reason.”

“And who might you be?” The Odalian king’s stare was hard and suspicious.

“Tea’s chronicler,” Lady Zoya explained. “He can tell you many things about our wayward asha, if you wish.”

“He is Drychta.”

“He is harmless, Your Majesty.”

I reached into my coat, eager to show him the letters that proved my value.

“Stop!” He made a fierce gesture, and I was surrounded by swords and spears. The tip of one blade grazed my chin. “I have heard of you. The songs you sing are popular in my own courts, a favorite to mimic among my own bards. But you are Drychta, and that does not change.”

“I can vouch for him, Your Majesty,” Lord Fox said.

“And how certain are you of his loyalties?”

“You’ve asked me about Tea many times these last few months, and I had no answers to give. The letters he holds will alleviate some of those concerns, though I doubt you’ll find all the answers there.”

The Odalian king paused. He eyed the papers in my hand.

“Show me,” he responded.

18

We made haste the next day, packing quickly and making our good-byes so we could make for Mithra’s Wall before Kance’s army could engage the Drychta. I hurried to Likh’s tent when the latter proved slow to appear. “Lord Agnarr is waiting to see us go,” I said abruptly, pushing back the door. “I’m worried about Prince—King Kance, and the sooner we leave, the quicker we can get to—”

Likh and Khalad sprang apart. I stared, focused on keeping my jaw shut, while they both babbled together:

“We were already leaving—”

“Khalad was—it’s cold even with all the Fire runes present—”

“We weren’t—Likh wasn’t feeling well and I was trying to—”

“—we didn’t bring enough warm clothing, and Khalad was kind enough to—”

“—not sick or anything, but I wanted to check the wards in case—”

“I’m going to give you two five minutes to compose yourselves,” I said gently, “and to get your stories straight, but that’s all the time we can spare. We leave within half an hour if we want to find Kance before his army clashes with Aadil’s. We may be in the thick of battle as soon as the azi lands, so prepare yourselves.” Slowly, I closed the door, smiling to myself. It was a start.