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“What is the form of the trial?” I demanded. “Do you have an advocate to speak for you? Will Kaeska have someone to argue her innocence? What exactly do you want me to say?”

“Aldabreshin justice is swift and sure,” answered Laio crisply. “Shek Kul will call you to stand before him and tell your tale. Kaeska will respond and you can argue the details out where necessary. Shek Kul will listen for as long as he wishes and then give his judgment. We do not hide behind intercessors and contention, like the mainlanders. The truth is not some dead beast to be picked over by carrion birds and weasel words.”

I’d have to remember that line to use against Mistal one day. So this court was going to have all the validity of a barrack room assize, as far as I could see; my best hope had to be that the legendary blood-thirstiness of the Aldabreshi would carry the day against Kaeska, regardless.

“What about the fish and the birds? When are you going to tell Shek Kul about that?”

“I’m not and neither are you.” Laio opened the bedroom door with a vindictive shove. “Kaeska will only deny it and once we acknowledge the fact of the deaths there will always be the suspicion that it was a valid omen.”

And if no one mentions the lizard sitting in the middle of the dining table, presumably it doesn’t exist either.

“I don’t want you mentioning this attack you say they made on you either, not since there were no witnesses,” Laio continued. “They’ll only use that to muddy the waters by arguing some personal conflict between you and this foreigner, that your accusations are simply malicious.”

Laio forbade any further discussion with a wave of her hand and readied herself for bed with her usual routine, soon asleep and snoring with an insouciance that I could only envy. I lay on my pallet, naked sword ready to hand, unable to sleep as my ears seized on every slightest noise as the long night deepened, darkened and paled into day.

The Palace of Shek Kul,

the Aldabreshin Archipelago,

7th of For-Summer

I was standing on the balcony, watching as the sunlight spilled the golden promise of a new dawn across the dark green flanks of the mountain when I heard Laio stir behind me. Stifling a yawn, I turned to see her emerge from her silken cocoon of quilts, eyes unfocused, her soft face betraying her girlhood. As her gaze lit on me, her expression hardened.

“You look dreadful!” She tossed her coverlets aside. “Have you been awake all night?”

“I know what Kaeska’s been up to. I’ve dealt with these cursed Elietimm before,” I snapped, exhaustion hitting me like a slap in the face now I had to start thinking and talking again. “I wasn’t about to have her come in and slit our throats in the middle of the night!”

“Oh don’t be so ridiculous,” Laio said with no little contempt as she dragged on an old crimson tunic and ran a hand through her hair. If I hadn’t been so spent, I would probably have managed some cutting retort; as it was all I could do was scowl.

“I need you awake and alert to give your evidence against Kaeska this evening,” she continued, her voice taut with irritation. “Get in.” She pulled aside a quilt on the bed.

“What?” I blinked, too tired to bother with niceties.

“Get some sleep, you idiot.” There was precious little patience remaining in her tone and her foot was tapping ominously.

I moved to the bed, consoling myself with the realization that Sezarre and Grival would be awake by now and the residence guard would have been changed at dawn. They would be more than a match for Kaeska and her sorcerer in a straight fight. Now the plot had been exposed, for the Elietimm to use magic would be to condemn the pair of them out of hand. My sluggish thoughts had just reached this conclusion when the silken pillow touched my cheek with a seductive caress. I was lost and asleep even before Laio’s warmth and lingering scent in the bed could stir my tired senses.

I was borne upwards from the depths of sleep by a swelling tide of noise in the compound below Laio’s apartments. Opening my eyes, I was just trying to identify the individual elements in the mix when the door opened. I sat bolt upright, heart racing, only to see Laio standing looking at me, her expression a blend of concern and irritation.

“Are you going to be able to tell a coherent tale without falling asleep in the middle of it?” Her foot was tapping again and I realized belatedly how much of her own prestige Laio was investing in my word.

“Yes,” I said simply. “You were right, I did need to sleep.” If I had expected my admission would soften her mood, I was wrong.

“Of course I was,” snapped Laio. “Get up, get washed and fetch something to eat.”

I hurried to comply; having Laio standing in the middle of the floor, arms folded and eyes hooded with annoyance didn’t encourage any lingering in bed. Stifling a fleeting wish that I could have a decent shave for once, I headed down to the kitchens, pausing at the half-landing to open a shutter and check the time by the sun. It proved to be late afternoon, but I barely spared the sun a glance when I saw the activity in the gardens. I’d thought the place was crowded when the news of the baby’s birth has spread but that was nothing compared to the scene below me. It looked as if half the domain had somehow made its way here; I couldn’t believe all these people lived on this one island. A tremor of nervousness threatened to unsettle me and I slapped a passing insect with unnecessary venom.

“Get a grip on the reins, Rysh,” I muttered to myself. “The only one you need to convince is Shek Kul. Imagine he’s the Sieur in a difficult mood.”

The problem with that was not only did I know the Sieur and his disposition while Shek Kul was largely still an untold tale to me, but I could also rely on the protection of oaths that the Sieur had made when offering me his commission. I realized that I had no idea just what Shek Kul might do to me if he decided for some arcane reason that my words were a malicious fabrication. I made haste to fetch Laio’s meal and waited impatiently for her to eat her fill.

“What will happen if Kaeska is not judged guilty?” I asked abruptly, not bothering to ask permission as I began to eat, trying to see if some food would settle the qualms gathering in my gut.

Laio shook herself as she rose and began pacing along the balcony. “You don’t need to concern yourself with that,” she replied in a haughty tone that nevertheless rang a little hollow to my ears. “Tell the tale as you gave it to me and she will not be able to excuse herself.”

There was a distinct edge of nervousness in her voice, which struck answering echoes from the doubts starting to gather around my mind. I stared at the flatbread in my hand, appetite failing me.

“Will you hurry up!” Laio suddenly snapped. “I need to dress and make ready.”

As I shoved the tray aside, I forced the tumult of doubt and apprehension into the back of my mind and slammed a door on it. If I betrayed any nervousness, I could see Laio’s poise would desert her and then we would both be in trouble. I might have the evidence that would condemn Kaeska but Laio was the one who knew how this so-called system of justice worked, which arguments would be most likely to sway Shek Kul, how Kaeska’s mind would be working as she tried to evade her fate. I needed Laio calm and confident, all her wits sharp, honed to perfection as she cut through the intricacies of life in a Warlord’s household. Well, that at least was something I had some control over.

Accordingly, I dressed her in a flamboyant golden gown, the silk shot through with a vivid bankfisher blue, answering fire caught from an Emperor’s ransom in sapphires and diamonds around her neck, her wrists and her ankles. I drew her hair up with jewelled clips and pins, piling it high to give her an illusion of greater tallness, the style encouraging her to carry her head high, shoulders back. She sat still as a statue, expressionless, as I painted her face in the intricate mask of an Aldabreshin noblewoman, outlining her eyes and brows with black, a sweep of azure and gold carried out from her lashes to her hairline, cheekbones highlighted to dramatic effect and lips full with a rich red tint that promised untold delights. As her mouth yielded to the soft kiss of the brush, my hand halted and our eyes met.