The woman in grey came in person.She stood in the study doorway at dawn with a single folded page, still in her outdoor coat, and waited to be told she could come in. Marcus knew what the page would say before she opened her mouth. People did not deliver reports in person unless they were unsure of the words."Sit," said Marcus."I'd rather stand, sir.""Then stand." He did not take the page. He had not slept, and the light at the long window had turned from grey to something paler, and he found he wanted a moment before it was said aloud. "How many came back?""All eight. They left the perimeter together last evening, as instructed. No one was seen leaving.""And?""And I am confirming." She said it in the same flat voice she used for everything. "The heir is alive, sir. He is at Blackfang. He is awake, and he is already using it."The room did not change. The ledger lay on the desk. He had not let anyone take it away. Below the window the city started its day, indifferent.Nineteen

Nobody raised a hand at first.Marcus had expected that. He stood at the head of the table with his own hands folded behind him and did not hurry them. A vote taken fast was a vote people regretted, and a vote people regretted was one they began to talk about. He wanted this one finished and silent."The question is simple," he said. "Do we take the third road?"The oldest of them raised his hand. It was a slow, deliberate movement, the gesture of a man who had done it before and had hoped never to do it again. He kept his eyes on Marcus while he did it. "Aye.""Aye," said the man at the far end. His hand shook so badly that he had to lay it flat on the table afterward.The next one said it. And the next. It went round the room without anyone looking at anyone else, each word dropped like a coin into a well, each one a small flat sound. *Aye. Aye. Aye.* Marcus counted. At nine, he let himself notice that no one had hesitated. At eleven, he noticed that the woman in the middle was stil