Trilos sat in his usual place. He didn’t appear to care about the weather; nor did he seem to take any notice of them as they sat on the bench farthest from him.
“I’m not concerned about her physical condition,” Imaly whispered. “What about her attitude?”
“One holds hands with the other, don’t you think?”
“I wouldn’t be asking if I knew the answer. She’s a Rhune. I have no understanding of them.”
“I’m no expert, either.”
Imaly had been careful in choosing allies. Volhoric was necessary since he controlled access to the horn. Makareta was her secret weapon, but if Imaly could have picked only one associate, one partner in crime, it would have been Vasek, even though he was the greatest threat. Being intelligent and experienced, he was also the most likely to betray her.
“What are the chances of this Rhune relinquishing the secret of dragons?” Imaly asked.
“Low,” he replied confidently. “I seriously doubt she has that knowledge at all. It’d be beyond stupid to send a person who possesses the information we need the most, and my sources report that Nyphron is no idiot. The gift wrapping is a bit too perfect. I suspect a trap. She’s probably here on some sort of suicide mission. Her purpose is likely sabotage, information gathering, or maybe even an assassination attempt. Although I can’t see how that Rhune could pose a threat to anyone, let alone the fane. Still, it worries me that I haven’t been able to determine the nature of her threat.”
“But what if she does know?”
“Then she would try her best not to tell us.”
“Do you think you can force it out of her?”
Vasek hesitated. “This morning I would have said yes, but now, I’m not so certain.”
“Why? What happened?”
“We dug her up, expecting her to do anything to avoid being put in the coffin again, but—”
“You did what?” Imaly forgot about pretending they weren’t together and turned to stare directly at him. “You buried her? In the ground? Are you insane? She could have died!”
Still looking at the door, Vasek replied in his infuriatingly calm voice, “She was only down there for a few hours. The coffin had enough air for twice that long. I had been led to believe the Rhune was terrified of small places, but apparently not.”
“That was an incredibly risky gamble. How do you know how much air is in a coffin?”
“How I came by that knowledge is not something you want to know, trust me.”
“Is she all right?”
“She’s fine. It would appear the rumor was inaccurate. The Rhune took the opportunity to take a nap.”
“Thank Ferrol for that. She could be important after we . . . well, you know.” She looked around. They were well out of Trilos’s hearing range, but Imaly was uncomfortable speaking plainly in public.
Vasek appeared to agree and quietly replied, “How is the well-you-know coming?”
Imaly rubbed her palms together, warming them. “It’s a work in progress but showing great promise.”
“That means nothing,” Vasek said. “Show me results, and I’ll consider taking measures to support your success.”
“So, you would rather align yourself with Lothian? Do you believe he can win this war? You already admitted your doubts about the Rhune possessing the knowledge he seeks. And even if she has it, your powers of persuasion haven’t worked. Lothian is dangling from a thread that is the promise of dragons. Do you believe we can win this war without them?”
“No.” His answer was what she expected, but the speed at which he delivered it was not. He hadn’t even bothered to think. Vasek had already, perhaps long ago, come to this conclusion.
“No chance at all?” she asked.
“We don’t have enough Miralyith to guard all of Erivan. Eventually, Nyphron will realize this—or maybe he already has, but he’s just stubborn about crossing the Nidwalden. Eventually, he will send an army around our Miralyith. They might already be on their way. We have only minor defenses to our south, the east, and the far north. Our population shrinks while the Rhune are free to spread into Avrlyn and multiply.” He shook his head. “Short of Ferrol personally intervening on our behalf, I don’t think we have any chance at all.”
“Vasek, when Lothian was off to Alon Rhist, I received an overture from the Rhunes, sent by a bird. It proposed peace between our peoples. If—and granted it’s a big assumption—but if we manage to succeed in our plan, we will still have a war to deal with, one you admit we can’t win. On the outside chance we impress ourselves and succeed, I’d like to be on better terms with this Rhune. So, might I suggest treating her better?”
“You want me to defy the fane’s order?”
She sighed. “No, the fane told you to extract the secret of dragons, but you don’t believe she knows it. You can’t obtain what doesn’t exist. But if we can’t win without dragons, wouldn’t it make sense to consider a peaceful resolution with the Rhunes? If Lothian questions you, tell him you are trying a new tactic because the last one failed. Explain that sometimes kindness can obtain what cruelty cannot.”
“What do you suggest? I have her to tea?”
“It’d be a good start, but why don’t you stop treating her as an enemy and welcome her as a guest? You could arrange for food, a bath, better clothes, and a comfortable place to stay.”
Vasek frowned. “Like where?”
“I don’t know. You’re the Master of Secrets.”
Vasek leaned back on the bench to ponder this. “I suppose I could arrange for a better room at the palace.”
Imaly sat up suddenly, her back coming free of the rear of the bench. She covered the act by pretending to brush something off her lap, as if a late autumn bee had landed on her. “No,” she said forcefully. “Not there. Let’s keep her away from Lothian, for Ferrol’s sake.”
“You want to take her in?”
“Absolutely not.” Imaly was horrified at the thought of trying to house both the Rhune and Makareta—whom she had yet to tell Vasek about. “Given that she is under your charge, why not give her a guest room at your house?”
“Mine?”
“You live alone. It’d be perfect. And what better way to mend a broken fence than to accept her into your own home?”
“I don’t—”
“We’ll all need to make sacrifices, Vasek.”
“And what will you be sacrificing?”
Makareta’s trusting face popped into Imaly’s head, saddening her. But years in the body politic kept her expression neutral.
“My life, I suspect, which will end in an extremely painful way. If I fail to remove Lothian from office, all fingers will point my way. And we both know how publicly Lothian likes to execute traitors. But that is not my greatest concern.”
“No? What is?”
“That you are wrong, and this Rhune really does know how to create dragons. What do you think will happen if that is the case?”
“Well, assuming I can’t charm the secret out of her, Lothian will take measures into his own hands. He’ll use his own powers of persuasion, and she’ll tell him what she knows. Then Lothian will win this war, become a new hero to his people just as Fenelyus did, and that will eliminate your opportunity to remove the Miralyith from power.”