“Language, Ashi!”
Ashi bit into her words, then said through her teeth, “Do you know what that is, Vounn?”
“No,” the older woman admitted, “but does it matter? Clearly it’s something the Darguuls want. Thief and merchant both take your money, but a merchant gives you change and invites you to come back.”
They approached a door with House guards standing to each side, and Vounn slipped the reliquary back into her sleeve. “Remember,” she said, “speak when spoken to, and behave yourself.” She looked Ashi up and down. “Do this right and you might be forgiven-after all, if it wasn’t for your foolishness, we might not have this opportunity.”
“I’m so pleased I could help.”
One of the guards opened the door. Vounn and Ashi stepped through, and the door closed behind them.
The room on the other side was plain by the standards of House Deneith: dark-paneled walls with only a few trophies hung on them, a simple fireplace with only a few pieces of silver plate positioned on the mantle, and an ordinary heavy table with only a light pattern of fine Eldeen carvings twining up the legs. Four chairs had been drawn up to the table. In one of them sat Tariic. In the other, to Ashi’s surprise, sat Ekhaas. The duur’kala caught her eye, gave the slightest of nods, then looked away.
There were no guards-Deneith or Darguul-in the room. Tariic rose like a gentleman and held out one of the chairs for Vounn. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice, Lady Vounn,” he said as she seated herself. “I’m sorry for taking up your time outside the schedule of our official visit. I hope you’re well this morning.”
Vounn’s expression was gracious, but Ashi knew that on the inside she wore an expression as smug as a well-fed cat. “The schedule of an official visit seldom survives intact after the first meeting,” she said. “Please call me Vounn, Tariic. There’s no need for titles here. We’re not on parade.”
The hobgoblin smiled and returned to the other side of the table. “As you say.” He turned his smile on Ashi as she took the last chair. “Ashi,” he said by way of greeting.
It was only a single word, just her name, but there was something in the way that Tariic said it, something in the way his expressive ears stood up as he spoke, that roused Ashi’s instincts. She might have felt the same way during a hunt if a lone bird had flown up from a stand of still reeds or if sudden silence had fallen over stretch of marshland. Her skin prickling, she glanced at
Ekhaas and found her friend watching her out of the corner of her eye. Ashi sat back in her chair. “Tariic,” she said, but he had already turned back to Vounn.
“I’d like to apologize again for Ekhaas’s actions last night. Attempting to steal from your memorial is inexcusable, but as they say, a stone can hide a treasure.” Tariic put his hands flat on the table. “After last night, Vounn, I find I have a respect for you that might otherwise have come only after days of meetings. You act with a particular honor that is rare among humans.”
Ashi saw some of the unease that she felt register in Vounn’s eyes. This didn’t, she realized, sound like the humble apology the lady seneschal had predicted. Vounn’s voice, however, remained steady and unconcerned. “Thank you, Tariic. I’m flattered.”
He shook his head. “It’s not flattery, only the truth. And because of it, there is something I want to discuss with you now that I wouldn’t otherwise have raised until the end of my time here.” He reached inside the doublet he wore and produced a small, tightly wound scroll that had been sealed with black wax. “By the wish of my uncle, Lhesh Haruuc Shaarat’kor, I invite you to attend his court as a permanent ambassador of House Deneith. My soldiers and I are to be your escort to Rhukaan Draal.”
Ashi started in surprise at the offer. Vounn, for a long moment, sat very still and very silent. Anyone else might have missed it, but Ashi knew there was turmoil behind that frozen mask. Vounn had worked long and hard to bring the Darguuls into negotiations with Deneith, and now Haruuc was inviting her to his court as an ambassador. It was everything Vounn could have dreamed of, a chance to advance both her status with House Deneith and the cause of Deneith with the Darguuls.
And, Ashi realized abruptly, it was everything she could have hoped for as well. Surely Vounn wouldn’t take her to Darguul. She’d be free of her mentor! But Vounn’s silence stretched out until Ashi couldn’t stand it anymore. She leaned toward her and whispered “Vounn…”
The lady seneschal’s eyes flickered with flame. “Sit back, Ashi,” she ordered under her breath, then looked at Tariic. “There’s already a representative of Deneith in Darguun,” she said as clearly and confidently as if she were discussing the purchase of a horse. “Viceroy Redek d’Deneith.”
“Redek is based at the Gathering Stone fortress two days ride outside Rhukaan Draal,” said Tariic. “Deneith’s outpost in the crown city is little more than a recruiting center. Haruuc wishes to draw the ties between Deneith and Darguun closer. He wants an ambassador from his greatest ally to be part of his court-a councilor and not just a trader in mercenaries.” He held out the scroll.
Vounn considered the spooled paper but didn’t accept it. Instead, she asked, “Why? And why now? The representatives of dragonmarked houses aren’t usually granted ambassador status- that’s a title for the representatives of other nations.”
Tariic flicked his ears and shrugged. “Call it something else if your prefer. These are my uncle’s words, though: Darguun has done well by House Deneith. Even when we turned on them, Deneith was the first to make peace with us and the first to support Darguun as a new nation. They are a true friend, and their voice deserves to be heard.” He gestured with the scroll. “I believe that’s repeated on here.”
“It doesn’t answer the question of why now,” said Vounn. “I’ve been dealing with your uncle’s court for years, Tariic. This is the first hint that I’ve heard of a wish to give Deneith a bigger voice, and it comes strangely on the heels of the very sudden and unexpected decision to send you here.” She sat forward. “True friends deserve to know everything that’s going on. What’s really going through Haruuc’s mind?”
Tariic bared his teeth at her blunt confrontation. His ears bent back and his grip on the sealed scroll shifted. If it had been a weapon, Ashi would have said he was ready to strike with it. She tensed, ready to defend herself and-reluctantly-Vounn. Her mentor, however, didn’t flinch. She just kept her eyes on Tariic, and after a moment, his snarling lips stretched back into a hard grin. “You’ll do well in Rhukaan Draal, Vounn.”
“I haven’t agreed to go yet,” she told him. “Why does Haruuc really want an ambassador from Deneith at his court?”
“He’s getting old,” Tariic said simply. He set the scroll down on the table and sat back in his chair. “He was a young warrior when he led the uprising that created Darguun, but that was thirty years ago. He’s not going to be on the throne forever and he knows it. He’s going to have to name a successor soon, and when he does, he wants to be sure that Deneith’s relationship with his successor is as strong as it is with him. Darguun needs Deneith. Our trade with other nations is still developing-practically the only thing we export is mercenaries.”
“And why me?” asked Vounn. “Redek is already in Darguun, and as you say, he’s a fine trader in mercenaries.”
Tariic’s dark skin darkened even further. “You cut hard, Vounn. Ban, Redek is a good businessman, but he’s hardly known outside of Darguun. Haruuc wants you because people-powerful people-across Khorvaire know your name. The friendship of Deneith has given Darguun legitimacy. If you know and can speak for Haruuc’s chosen successor, it will give him legitimacy in the eyes of the rulers of Khorvaire as well.” He bent his head. “Haruuc wants Deneith’s public support. Does that answer your questions?”
Vounn sat silent for a long moment, then she bent her head in return. “Admirably.” Her face was still neutral, but Ashi could read the triumph in her movements as she reached out and took the scroll from the table. Ashi’s heart rose as well and she fought to keep the joy she felt inside as Vounn continued. “The matter will need to go before the patriarch for his blessing, but surely-”
Ekhaas, who had sat silent through the entire conversation, cleared her throat. “There is one other thing.”
Vounn stopped and looked at her, but Tariic was the one who added an explanation. “Haruuc would very much like for you to bring Ashi along. He has heard of your training of her and would like to meet the bearer of the Siberys Mark of Sentinel.”
Ashi’s joy sputtered like a candle’s flame, then leaped even higher. The idea of being out from under Vounn’s thumb was one thing, but the possibility of traveling again, of leaving Karrlakton to see Darguun and meet Lhesh Haruuc was something else. She looked to Vounn-
— just as her mentor slowly shook her head. “I’m sorry. That isn’t possible. Ashi can’t be allowed to leave
