“Sorceress Melissa!” he called, in a ringing, cheerful voice. “Forgive an old man’s impertinence! But I could not help noticing, as you walked in, that for two hundred thousand gold coins, we had expected someone a little taller!”The silence that followed was so complete that the faint buzz of a fly circling the ceiling could be heard from across the hall.Nobody laughed. Nobody breathed. Darius’s face went rigid, and Varek’s eyes, half-lidded and thoughtful, flicked sharply toward the little elder. At the foot of the dais, Elvyn closed her eyes, her lips forming a soundless prayer.Melissa turned her head, very slowly, and looked at Bastian.“What did you say?” she asked.Her voice was soft, almost gentle. Bastian’s smile faltered. A tiny line of sweat trickled down his temple.“I— I merely meant—” he stammered. “A jest, Sorceress. A trifling pleasantry. We are all friends here, are we not? I only thought—”“You thought,” Melissa said, “that it would be amusing to make a joke about

“Not in hiding,” Melissa said. “Moving. Collecting allies.”“As you say.”“How long ago did he escape?”“Several months.”“Where did he go?”“We are not certain. He was seen in the lower towns, then in the old Verdant Watch tunnels beneath the city. Later, he appeared at my fortress during a banquet.”“He walked into your fortress?”“He did.”“Alone?”“With companions.”“How many?”“Three. A woman of the Verdant Watch, a former tunnel-runner, and a loyalist soldier.”“And what did he do there?”Darius’s jaw tightened. “He stole something from my brother’s old chambers. A book. And he escaped.”“A book,” Melissa repeated. “Which book?”“A record of the clover bloodline. His father’s private writings.”“Ah.” A glint of interest crossed her face. “That would explain a great deal. And how did he escape, with the entire fortress in alarm?”“He used the earth clover to open a tunnel beneath the walls.”“Under the fortress.”“Yes.”“In how long?”“A matter of seconds.”“Seconds,” Melissa mur

For a long moment after Melissa spoke, nobody in the great hall moved. The request hung in the golden air like a coin that had been tossed and not yet landed. A room. A bowl of olives and grapes. After the broken body of an elder had been carried out and the blood scrubbed from the marble, the plainness of the demand was somehow more frightening than any threat.It was Darius who recovered first. He rose from his black oak chair with the smooth, practiced composure of a man who had spent years learning to hide his fear behind his dignity.“It shall be done at once,” he said. “Sorceress, you will have the finest apartments in the palace. The east wing, overlooking the gardens. They were prepared for you three days ago.”“Three days ago?” Melissa’s brow lifted slightly.“I was confident.”“Or presumptuous.”“Perhaps a little of both.”“At least you are honest.” She leaned on her staff. “Send someone to show me the way. Someone quiet. I have had enough noise.”“Of course.” Darius snapped

“Because you asked. And because—” Alice lifted her chin slightly, and for a moment the polite, vacant mask slipped, revealing a face of quiet, startling courage. “Because you killed a man in front of the entire court for mocking you, and no one else has been brave enough to say what everyone else is thinking.”Elvyn’s eyebrows rose. Melissa’s lips parted, and then, to Elvyn’s astonishment, a faint, dry, genuine laugh escaped her.“You are bolder than you look,” she said.“I have been told.”“I think I like you.”“I would be honored, Sorceress, though I do not expect to survive the attention.”“You will survive it.” Melissa resumed walking, her staff tapping the carpet. “Stay close to me, and nothing will touch you.”“Thank you.”“Do not thank me. I have not decided yet whether to keep you.”Alice’s step did not falter, but the faint flush in her cheeks deepened.They turned down a narrower corridor, the floor here paved in dark polished wood, the walls hung with silk. At its end stood

“I am not. It is what the old brothers believe.”“The old brothers are guessing.” Melissa chewed thoughtfully. “The real reason is likely much simpler. The thirteenth bond is a safeguard. A release valve. It awakens when the other twelve are insufficient.”“Insufficient for what?”“For whatever threat the bloodline was designed to counter.” Her eyes narrowed. “The Convergence.”Elvyn went very still. “You think the Hand’s plan is what the bloodline was built to stop?”“I think the Hand does not understand what it is attempting.” Melissa tossed an olive pit into the fire. “They want the Binding Shard to complete the Celestial Orb. They think it will give them power over life and death. But the shard was never meant to be held. It was meant to be the lock.”“The lock on what?”“On the thing the orb was made to contain.”The fire crackled. Elvyn’s hands tightened around her cup.“I have said too much,” Melissa murmured, as if to herself. “I should not speculate. But the pieces fit.”“You