She wanted to question him further about himself, but there wasn’t time right now. “I don’t know what his mission is, except he said it is urgent warden business. I’m just a guide for this stage of the journey. Are there no written documents or dispatches you can consult?”

“There are documents being carried by Fulmo, but I can’t read them. If you can read them aloud while I watch and listen, I should be able to learn the writing system.”

“A deputy courier is not going to be invited to read palace documents, much less aloud to the prince. When we stop for the night, say you have a headache and instruct one of your wardens to read the documents to you so you can reacquaint yourself with the situation as you decide how to go forward, now you have been forced to travel by this detour. But don’t ask. I don’t know anything about the palace. This is just what I’ve observed in the past day. A prince never asks. A prince commands. A prince expects. A prince will act immediately if shown any form of disrespect.”

He rested his chin on his hand, watching her. His gaze was unsettling, like a shadow, absorbing light, or maybe like light expanding to engulf shadow. “Go on.”

“I suppose the safest thing is for you to speak as little as possible. The wardens are well trained. They know what they’re doing, so let them do it. Luviara is not a warden. She’s a theurgist—”

“A theurgist? Ah, that explains the spirits who lurk around her.”

“Spirits?”

“That’s what theurgy is, is it not? Or am I mistaken?”

“I don’t know, as I am not a theurgist. Are you a theurgist?”

He gave a soft snort. “I am not. What does it mean to be a theurgist in this place?”

“All theurgists are assigned to the Heart Temple. However, Luviara has for some reason been attached to the prince as his interlocutor. That’s the person who speaks for the prince to anyone outside of his retinue.”

“So I noticed. I kept silent and let her speak to the archon and notables of this village.”

“Good. But’s she clever and curious, and she knows a lot. She will be alert for oddities. Be careful with her. I don’t know if she reports to someone else.”

“Reports?”

“Oh. Yes. The intendant—he is the official in charge of the Halt where I’m based—has told me a bit about how the empire works. The wardens guard the witch roads.”

“Witch roads?”

“The imperial roads that are protected by magic against the Pall and Spore. The prince is headed toward a place called Far Boundary Vigil.”

“What is a Vigil?”