gave me the strength to leave the Bonetree Clan.”
“Some people would say you repaid that debt by giving yourself up to House Deneith when you had to.”
“Are you one of them?”
Vounn’s lips pressed into a thin white line and she looked away-but anything she might have said was interrupted by a knock on the door and Aruget’s entrance. The hobgoblin must have sensed the tension in the room. His ears flicked. “Should I come back?”
“No,” said Vounn. “Report. What have you found out?”
“I’ve seen Geth,” Aruget said. Ashi’s heart gave a lurch. “He walks with Tariic in the hall of honor in advance of the coronation feast.”
“How did he look? Was he a captive?” Ashi asked.
Aruget shook his head. “He didn’t walk like a captive. He looked uninjured, though he had changed his clothes since the coronation. There was a crowd around Tariic-I didn’t want to get too close.”
“Was Makka-the bugbear from the coronation-there?”
“No.” Aruget hesitated, then added, “I went past Geth’s chamber but there were guards outside his door and I didn’t try to go in.”
“It would have been suspicious if you had,” Vounn said, nodding. “What about Daavn? Did you see him at all?”
“No.”
Ashi stood up. Between her argument with Vounn and Aruget’s news, her blood seemed to boil. Her head felt light. Geth hadn’t been captured-or had he? If it had been anyone else, she might have been afraid that Tariic had used the Rod of Kings to command that they stay by his side, but thanks to his bond with the Sword of Heroes, Geth was immune to the rod’s influence. There had to be some reason he’d stayed with Tariic, though. “I need to talk to Geth. We need to know what happened.”
“Sit down, Ashi.” Vounn’s eyebrows drew together as she thought. “Is it possible that there’s another explanation for what happened at the ceremony? Geth doesn’t like spectacles-and he did seem friendly with Tariic as they left the throne room.”
“At which point he bolted for his room like a rabbit.” Ashi shook her head, teeth clenched. “It’s not my imagination. Something is wrong, Vounn. If I can talk to Geth-”
“You can’t,” Vounn said with a note of finality. “You are going to stay in these chambers while we figure out the status of things.” Ashi started to protest, but her mentor silenced her with a raised finger. “I will grant you that the situation doesn’t seem as dire as I thought. Maybe Geth is on good terms with Tariic and there’s nothing to worry about.”
Ashi saw Aruget’s ears twitch and rise at the hint of trouble.
Vounn ignored him. Lips drawn down at the corners, she said, “You can stay in Darguun for now-at least until we know whether you’re in danger or not. But there are two conditions.” She held up a finger again, then added a second one. “First, don’t give Tariic any reason to take an interest in you. Stay in our chambers and keep your head down-I’ll pass word that you’re not feeling well-while Aruget and I make a few discreet inquiries. Second, we make arrangements to get you out of Darguun, and when I tell you to leave, you leave.”
She lowered her hand. “Your friends took a chance on you. You’re taking a chance on your friends, and now so am I. Does that satisfy you?”
It would have been impossible to be completely happy at that moment. Ashi still had too much anger and fear inside her and Vounn’s face was set in spite of her offer of compromise. It was also, Ashi knew, the best aid she could hope for.
She nodded.
The long table in the Cannith dining room had been set with delicate porcelain plates ringed with silver and remarkable goblets of cut glass. The big candelabras that marched down the center of the table were likewise cut glass. The flickering candlelight-no cold, steady magical light here-danced through them. Esmyssa Entar ir’Korran, seated in a special tall chair, leaned between two of the dazzling pillars. “We haven’t seen you in Tariic’s court since the coronation,” the Zil ambassador said.
“I’ve been ill,” said Ashi.
Esmyssa gave an understanding nod. “I’m so glad that you were able to come tonight, though,” she said. “You weren’t in Rhukaan Draal long enough to join one of our dinners before Haruuc sent you off. Then of course, the business with the Gan’duur and mourning afterward. I’m sure you’ll find the evening interesting.”
“I hope so,” Ashi said with a politeness that she didn’t really feel. “Vounn insisted that I make the effort to attend.” She shifted aside slightly as a servant’s arm reached past to place a shallow bowl of soup in front of her. It was creamy, fragrant, and golden. Seated on Ashi’s left, between her and Vounn, Pater d’Orien breathed deep.
“Ah,” he sighed. “Aundairian. Beautiful. Proper food from the Five Nations-not that I have anything against dar cuisine, but sometimes you want to sit down with friends over a meal that reminds you of home. I’m sure you understand what I mean, Senen Dhakaan.”
On the other side of the table, Senen’s ears bent slightly. “More than you know, Lord Pater,” she said. She picked up a spoon and stirred the soup dubiously. “It seems rich.”
“Yes, well, give it a try. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like it.”
Senen started to scoop up a little of the soup, then glanced at Dannel d’Cannith, chatting casually with Vounn while the rest of the table was served. The ambassador of the Kech Volaar set her spoon down again and sat back stiffly. Ashi understood her discomfort in the situation-it reminded her strongly of her own first experience with the etiquette of formal dining in the style of the Five Nations. To tell the truth, she preferred dar feasts and the fashion of eating as food was presented. But seeing Senen here at all was a surprise. It had taken quite some time for the strongly traditionalist hobgoblin to find common ground to even talk with Vounn. To find her eating with non- Darguuls was a sign that she was opening up a little bit more.
If having Senen there was a surprise, though, it was nothing compared to the other gnome who had stood at Esmyssa’s back when they’d entered the library. Midian now sat at the far end of the table, chattering about Dhakaani history to the half-elf viceroy of House Medani. As they’d passed from the library into the dining room, Ashi had managed to exchange a few words with Midian-a very few words.
“What are you doing here?”
“I suspected you’d be coming, so I talked Esmyssa into bringing me as a guest.”
“Have you seen Geth since-?”
He’d interrupted her, dropping his voice. “We’ll talk later.”
The last guest was served. Dannel d’Cannith picked up her spoon, and everyone at the table began eating. The soup was indeed rich. Pater slurped it up with a look of pleasure on his round, rough face. Ashi watched Senen work through her bowl with the dogged determination of someone set to a chore.
Conversation flowed around Ashi, light and casual. Esmyssa attempted to engage Senen with questions about the ancient history preserved by the Kech Volaar and the other Dhakaani clans. On Ashi’s right, the envoy of House Vadalis, a lean man named Kavrin, struck up a question about the wildlife of the Shadow Marches. Ashi described the beasts and monsters she had seen as a hunter of the wild swamps, a pleasant distraction as the soup bowls were removed and replaced with fish poached in Brelish stock. Fish gave way to pork roasted and sauced in the Karrnathi style. Ashi kept her eyes and ears alert. Around the meat course, Vounn had said-that was when it would happen.
And, just as she picked up her fork, it did. Seated beside Dannel and across from Vounn, Laren Roole, the ambassador of Breland, leaned a little forward and asked Pater, “How goes the process of supplying Darguun’s army?”
Pater sipped a little wine-Ashi saw abruptly that the servants who had stood behind the table, ready to refill empty glasses, had departed and that only the warforged Stitch remained-and said, “It goes well. Orien has lent an aide to Dagii’s quartermaster and he sends me reports. There was some expectation that the Valenar might attack the supply wagons, but there haven’t been any attacks yet.” He raised his glass. “Pray Kol Korran keeps it so!”
Like the first punch thrown in a brawl, the question changed the tone of conversation around the table. Abruptly Ashi found herself in a bubble. All around her, everyone was talking about the war and Tariic, but perhaps believing that a junior envoy would have nothing to add, no one talked to her. She didn’t dissuade them. Not being talked to gave her a better chance to listen. Esmyssa turned to the Aundairian ambassador on her other side to ask
