"I don't know that's what she-"

"Of course it is. Maybe it's not the only thing, but it's the worst. Else you'd tell me and be done."

"You don't need to know. It's private."

He held out his hands, palms up, showing me something I couldn't see. "What if I do what he did? How can I touch you, not knowing how he hurt you, what might turn pleasure into pain? Don't ask me to do that."

"It wasn't the pain." It hadn't hurt nearly as much as some of the blows I'd taken. Even the flat of a blade hadn't made me feel ill that way.

"Then what?" He cursed softly in Dasnarian, framing my face in his hands again. "You go so pale when you think of it. Don't you see that the only way to drain the infection is to let the light in? As a soldier you know that an undrained infection can kill. Sometimes slowly, but all the more lethal because of it. Just say the words."

It sounded easy, put that way. Just say it. "I-" A burst of laughter from outside caught me. "Not here. Not now."

To his credit, he didn't comment on the irony that I would have shared my body, but not my words, where we could be overheard. Instead, he nodded, in confirmation.

"After we eat. We'll walk down to the lake where we can be private."

My stomach knotted at the prospect. Only you can lance the wound, drain the poison. I had faced worse than telling a simple story.

Still, at the moment, I'd rather face an army of Tala wolves and dragons than that.

Andi and Rayfe sat at a table on a rise, drinking wine in the golden evening, deep in conversation. They rose as Harlan and I approached, Andi smiling as she surveyed me.

"Much better," she said in a relieved tone. "Sairah said the blow bruised your brain. You'll tell the story while we eat. Captain Harlan, will you join us?"

For once he seemed uncomfortable. "I don't wish to intrude."

I raised an eyebrow at him, reminding him he'd shown little such reserve with me.

"The Tala do not much stand on ceremony," Rayfe said. "The consort of my heart-sister is welcome at my table."

I drew in a breath to correct him, then stopped myself. If I'd had my way, Harlan would have become my lover mere minutes ago. Whether or not that came to pass, I would not shame him by pretending otherwise. He seemed surprised, then nodded, a small smile on his lips, and held my chair. "Your Highness."

Andi seemed terribly amused and I narrowed my eyes at her as I sat. "Dasnarians are big on courtesy, I have discovered."

"Among other things," Harlan agreed easily.

"No more evasions." Andi poured me wine. "Tell me how it came to pass that Uorsin beat you before the entire court."

"That's putting it strongly." The wine tasted delicious-like sunlight and magic.

"Tell it truly or I will." Harlan stared me down. "Or we can call over Dafne, who witnessed it also."

"You all act as if I've never been injured before, giving this incident more weight than it ought to have." But I gave them the report of the evening as we ate, chary of security details here and there. No sense giving Rayfe of the Tala an advantage, should he decide to attack Ordnung again. I doubted that would come to pass, since he'd won what he sought. Still, Andi might act as if we were merely sisters sitting down for an al fresco dinner with our consorts-something I'd never envisioned for us-but I would not forget that we remained on opposite sides of a contested border.

"Have you heard of these Practitioners of Deyrr?" Andi asked Rayfe when I finished, flashing me a stormy glance before she turned to him, making it clear we had not finished discussing our father. Danu save me.

Rayfe picked up a lock of her hair and wound it thoughtfully around one finger. "There are tales. Some say that certain wizards among the Tala have dabbled in such, black magic, death magic. None do so openly, as it would mean banishment from Annfwn."

"Hardly a dire punishment," I commented.

His blue eyes darkened. "On the contrary, Heart-Sister. The Tala dread nothing more. Many would prefer death to separation from our homeland. You knew Salena better than your sisters-surely you saw what she suffered."

I drank from my wine to cover the cut of that, the remembered bewilderment of watching our mother decline. As a child, I hadn't understood. Even as an adult, I didn't see how not living in Annfwn, lovely though it might be, could make the difference between health, sanity, and . . . whatever you would describe as our mother's behavior in those last years.

"So." Andi tapped her fingers on the table, clearly still mulling the tale. "This Illyria has designs upon the High Throne. Even should she succeed in marrying Uorsin, that would not change the succession."

"Except that the High King has already indicated he would put Astar in the role of heir," I pointed out. "Arguably he sees Astar as the better choice, the son he should have had. What's to prevent him from getting a boy out of Illyria? That would make her queen mother and potentially regent."

"Particularly if Uorsin executes you," Harlan inserted.

Andi stilled, that thundercloud sense gathering. "Is it that bad? I knew you weren't telling us everything."

"No, it's not that bad." I glared at Harlan, regretting the impulse to have him join us. He returned my stare evenly.

"Regardless of the High King's motivations," he spoke to Andi and Rayfe, "Lady Mailloux, Ursula's own lieutenants, and I all agreed the situation had reached such a level that it seemed wisest to extract the heir as hastily as possible, despite injuries that made travel a poor decision."

"Which is why we must find Amelia and bring her and Astar to Ordnung," I stepped in, determined to divert the course of this speculation.

"Is that the best idea?" Rayfe interrupted. "If your life has been in danger, surely an alternate heir's would be also."

I was already shaking my head. "I'm not further discussing internal politics with an erstwhile enemy of Ordnung. Annfwn has no stake in this situation. I'm updating my sister on events in her family and appealing to you both to allow this rescue mission."

"This has everything to do with Annfwn, Ursula!" Andi's magic snapped with her temper. "You might not think you need help, but by Moranu, you have it. The High Throne of the Twelve belongs to you by right-and by our mother's sacrifice. There are good reasons she laid the plans she did."

"How do you know her plans weren't for Ami's son to take the throne?" I pointed out to her. "Salena waited out those years for her third daughter to be born. She'd had you, born with the mark to fulfill her obligation to her people." I nodded toward Rayfe, who inclined his head in tacit acknowledgment. "Perhaps her plan had been to birth Astar's mother all along. We can't know what she meant to do that the childbirth sickness prevented."

"That makes no sense-you were born to be heir," Andi insisted.

Unless Salena had seen how flawed I was, how unsuited to follow in my father's footsteps. I let the wine ease that ache. So many ways I'd failed.

"Besides"-Andi took a deep breath-"I'm convinced that Uorsin killed our mother."

I set the goblet down. Andi held my gaze, waiting. "That's a horrifying and treasonous accusation."

"He's not my King," she replied.

As if I needed reminding that she'd defected. "You have no reason to think it."

"Don't I? Ami thinks so, too. Lady Zevondeth knows the truth. She's been trying to tell us, in her way."

"Zevondeth is old, possibly demented from age and illness. Her words cannot be relied on."

"Ursula!" Andi reached across the table and took my hands. "I know you think Uorsin is a great king, but he's a tyrant. He's abused his power and now I think he's treated you worse than ever we guessed. How can you defend him?"

"He is the King. I'm loyal to that. It's my duty to be. It's not my place to judge him."

"Loyalty does not have to be blind and deaf," Andi insisted.

I shook her off. "Coming from someone who discarded her filial loyalty to pledge herself to the enemy, that's not a convincing argument. Keep to Annfwn and the Tala, Andi-this has nothing to do with you anymore."

She made a sound of incoherent frustration.

"What about the Star of Annfwn?" Harlan asked.

Rayfe sat upright, as if stung, and Andi and I both rounded on the mercenary. She with astonishment and me with righteous anger. He stared me down, not bothered in the least. "Illyria sought it in your mother's jewels. I told you that I-and I feel I can safely speak for Dasnaria-would have a concern over anything the Temple of Deyrr pursues so diligently. It occurs to me that Annfwn would also have a stake in something named for it."

"You have the Star of Annfwn?" Rayfe demanded.

"That's what you brought through the barrier," Andi said at the same time.

Rayfe rounded on her. "You knew, Andromeda, and didn't tell me?"

"I didn't know what it was," she returned. "Don't pull that attitude on me. If you want to be helpful, you can explain the significance of it."

"Why don't you explain, Uorsin's heir?" Rayfe focused on me. "How came you to have this jewel?"

"Jewel?" Andi echoed. She knew, then. It showed in her face though she avoided looking at my sword, having at least that much discretion still.

"I've never seen it." Rayfe's intent gaze swept over me. "I thought it a myth, in truth. It's described as perfectly round and smooth, light amber in color, and shines as if lit from within." He touched Andi's chin then, lifting it so she met his eyes. They exchanged a long moment of wordless communication.

"What power does it hold, then?" I made the question sharp enough to break the moment, and they swiveled to look at me.

"Let me see it," Rayfe returned.

"No. I came to have it because our mother gave it to me. And told me to keep it secret. That hasn't changed."

"I remember seeing it now, as Rayfe describes it," Andi whispered. "But so long ago. You never said you had something from her."

The old guilt crept in. "It felt wrong to throw it in your face. I had more of her than you or Ami did. And I had that, too."

"I notice you kept it anyway," Andi replied, in a dry tone I recognized as an imitation of mine.

"She told me to."

"What for?"

"I-" Remember that you are the daughter of queens as well as of a king. A star to guide you . . . You will need it someday. "I don't exactly know."

"Our queens were said to pass it from one to the next." Rayfe picked up Andi's hand, kissed it. "It belongs to Andromeda, by right."

"No." Andi denied the assertion almost before he finished speaking. "Ursula is more queen than I. I might be in Annfwn, but she's the one meant to be queen of all the Twelve-even of the Thirteen." Her voice echoed eerily with prophecy, enough so the hair crawled on the back of my neck. Even Rayfe seemed taken aback.

The words reverberated with a hum in the air, gradually fading.

"What are you saying?" I said into the quiet.

Her eyes nearly glowed in the lamplight, both dark and bright at once. "I told you once before, Ursula. Your reign will be extraordinary."

I remembered that day. "You said then you didn't know what the future holds." Certainly not what had transpired lately.

She glanced at Rayfe, back to me. "Not precisely. But some events I do see. Rarely in much useful detail. None are certain, though some are more inevitable than others."

"Are there futures where Ursula does not take the High Throne?" Harlan asked.

Andi turned to him. "Nothing is certain," she repeated. "You, however, Captain Harlan, are a part of this. A crucial one."

Though he didn't show it, I knew she'd surprised him. "Is that so?" He said it slowly, measuring her.

Abruptly she smiled. "It is so. I'd long wondered who in the Twelve and Annfwn you might be. Such a fascinating twist that you're not of us at all. I wonder what that means for our future." Leaving him to ponder that, she focused back on me. "It's safe where it is. Keep the Star. I'll find out what I can about it, now that I see more."

"I don't like it." Rayfe glared at me, as if I'd been the one to say it. I steeled my spine against the wolfish stare, ready to draw if necessary. Trying not to think past that, of taking the blade to another of my sister's husbands.

Andi laughed, leaned in, and kissed him. He visibly softened at the caress, then intensified it. Like a spring squall, the moment passed. She pulled back and stroked his cheek. "I'll make it up to you."

"Yes, my queen," he replied. "You absolutely will."

I had to look away from the exchange, uncomfortable, and found Harlan watching me with that implacable gaze.

She stood and Rayfe rose with her. "We'll leave you. I'm sure you have much to discuss." She slanted me a sly smile and they went off, her arm threaded through his, heads bent together.

"It bothers you, to see them together?" Harlan asked, as I poured us both more wine.

I took my time answering, sorting through my thoughts, the still-roiling emotions of the conversation and all that had gone before. All I'd learned and observed. "Not exactly. I never truly contemplated what marrying him would mean for her."

"Sharing his bed?"

That discomforting heat again. I sipped the wine to cool it. "I suppose. She seems content, though. I'm still not happy about it, but he's a surprisingly good match for her. They . . . suit each other."

"As you and I do?"

"I don't know about that. Don't let Andi's vague prophecies go to your head."

He chuckled. Picked up my hand now that they'd left and turned it over to press a sensual kiss to my palm. In the lamplit darkness of the warm night air, it felt more intimate, more dangerous. Restless, I shifted, and he let me pull my hand away, settling back in his chair.

"It can't be easy, to want what's best for your realm and for those you love-especially when they seem to be in conflict."

"That's why I rely on the tangible-vows of loyalty and duty."

"You don't think you operate out of love? And yet you made a number of decisions, as I've pointed out before, for love of your sisters."

The restlessness niggled at me. I shrugged it off. "What you call love, I call duty. Our mother died. They've had no one else to look after them."

"No one until now," he pointed out ruthlessly. "Queen Andromeda, at least, has found a partner who cares deeply for her."

"Ami, too," I replied, thinking of how she'd kissed Ash, turned to him for aid and comfort. Finishing off the wine, I reached to pour more.

Harlan put his hand over mine. "The wine won't calm what disturbs you."