“And they let you go?” Corele asked.

“I didn’t allow them other options. Darlin, kindly marshal our forces here. I want them gathered by the evening. Flinn, we’ll need gateways. Large ones. A circle might be needed.”

“Tarwin’s Gap?” Nynaeve said, eager.

Rand glanced at her and hesitated. Min could feel his pain—sharp, spiking, real—as he spoke. “Not yet, Nynaeve. I’ve poured hot oil into the White Tower, and it will be boiling soon. Time. We don’t have time! I will get help to Lan, I vow it to you, but right now I must prepare to face Egwene.”

“Face her?” Nynaeve said, stepping forward. “Rand, what have you done?”

“What needed to be done. Where is Bashere?”

“He was out of the city with his men, my Lord Dragon,” Flinn said, “running their horses. Should be back soon.”

“Good. He’s going with me to Arad Doman. You too, Nynaeve. Min.” He looked at her, and those unfathomable eyes seemed to draw her in. “I need you, Min.”

“You have me. Stupid looby.”

“Callandor,” he said. “It plays a part in this. You have to find out how. I cannot seal the Bore the way I tried last time. I’m missing something, something vital. Find it for me.”

“I will, Rand.” A cold shiver ran through her. “I promise.”

“I trust you.” He looked up as a figure in a deep hooded cloak walked out of one of the Stone’s many guard posts.

“Cadsuane Melaidhrin,” Rand said, “I pardon you for past mistakes and I revoke your exile. Not that it was ever anything more than a minor inconvenience to you.”

She sniffed, lowering the hood. “If you believe that wearing a cloak in this heat is a ‘minor’ inconvenience, boy, then you need a lesson in contrast. I trust you see the error in your deed. It strikes me as unsuitable that I should need ‘forgiveness’ or a ‘pardon’ in the first place.”

“Well, then,” Rand said. “Please accept my pardon alongside my apology. You may say I have been under unusual stress as of late.”

“Of all people,” Cadsuane said sternly, “you cannot afford to let the pressure of life drive you.”

“On the contrary. I am who I have become because of that pressure, Cadsuane. Metal cannot be shaped without the blows of the hammer. But that is beside the point. You tried to manipulate me, and you failed horribly. But in that failure, you have shown me something.”

“Which is?”

“I thought I was being forged into a sword,” Rand said, eyes growing distant. “But I was wrong. I’m not a weapon. I never have been.”

“Then what are you?” Min asked, genuinely curious.

He merely smiled. “Cadsuane Sedai, I have a task for you, if you will accept it.”

“I expect that will depend on the task,” she said, folding her arms.

“I need you to locate someone. Someone who is missing, someone I now suspect may be in the hands of well-meaning allies. You see, I’ve been informed that the White Tower is holding Mattin Stepaneos.”