in the discussion. Why? And why was Sharina confiding her very un-novice-like opinions?
The answer was obvious. The more threatened the women in the camp felt—the more danger they saw from Elaida—the easier it would be for a firm hand to seize control. Though the sisters were indignant now over the mere loss of a closely guarded secret, they would soon realize the danger that Siuan had already seen. Soon there would be fear. Worry. Anxiety. The siege would never work, not now that the Aes Sedai inside it could Travel wherever and whenever they wished. Bryne’s army at the bridges had become useless.
Unless Siuan missed her guess, Lelaine would be making certain that everyone else noticed the implications, too.
“She wants us scared,” Siuan said. “She wants a crisis.” It was clever. Siuan should have seen this coming. The fact that she hadn’t—and the fact that she’d gotten no wind of Lelaine’s plans—also whispered an important fact. The woman might not trust Siuan as deeply as she seemed to. Blast!
She focused on Sharina. The gray-haired woman stood patiently, waiting as Siuan worked through what she’d revealed.
“Why did you tell me this?” Siuan asked. “For all you know, I’m Lelaine’s lackey.”
Sharina raised her eyebrows. “Please, Siuan Sedai. These eyes aren’t blind, and they see a woman working very hard to keep the Amyrlin’s enemies occupied.”
“Fine,” Siuan said. “But you are still exposing yourself for very little reward.”
“Little reward?” Sharina asked. “Excuse me, Siuan Sedai, but what do you suppose my fate will be if the Amyrlin doesn’t return? No matter what she says now, we can sense Lelaine Sedai’s true opinions.”
Siuan hesitated. Though Lelaine now played the part of Egwene’s pious advocate, not too long ago she had been as displeased as everyone else over the too-old novices. Few liked it when traditions changed.
Now that the new novices had been entered into the novice book, it would be very difficult to put them out of the Tower. But that didn’t mean the Aes Sedai would continue to let older women in. Beyond that, there was a good chance that Lelaine—or whoever ended up with the Amyrlin Seat—would find a way to delay or disrupt the progression of the women who had been accepted against tradition. That would certainly include Sharina.
“I will let the Amyrlin know of your actions here,” Siuan said. “You will be rewarded.”
“My reward will be Egwene Sedai’s return, Siuan Sedai. Pray it be swift. She entangled our fate with her own the moment she took us in. After what I’ve seen, and what I’ve felt, I have no intention of stopping my training.” The woman hefted the basket. “I assume you wish these washed and returned to you?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“I am a novice, Siuan Sedai. It is my duty and my pleasure.” The elderly woman bowed in respect and continued on down the path, walking with a step younger than her years.
Siuan watched her go, then stopped another novice. Another messenger to Bryne. Just in case. Hurry up, girl, Siuan thought to Egwene, glancing toward the spire of the White Tower. Sharina isn’t the only one whose fate is entangled with yours. You’ve got us all wound up in that net of yours.
CHAPTER 19
Gambits
Chaos. The entire world was chaos.
Tuon stood on the balcony of her audience hall in the palace of Ebou Dar, hands clasped behind her back. In the palace grounds—flagstones washed white, like so many surfaces in the city—a group of Altaran armsmen in gold and black practiced formations beneath the watchful eyes of a pair of her own officers. Beyond them, the city proper rose, white domes banded with colors spreading alongside tall, white spires.
Order. Here in Ebou Dar, there was order, even in the fields of tents and wagons outside the city. Seanchan soldiers patrolled and kept the peace; there were plans to clean out the Rahad. Just because one was poor was not a reason—or an excuse—to live without law.
But this city was just a tiny, tiny pocket of order in a world of tempest. Seanchan itself was broken by civil war, now that the Empress had died. The Corenne had come, but recapturing these lands of Artur Hawkwing progressed slowly, stalled by the Dragon Reborn in the east and Domani armies in the north. She still waited to hear news of Lieutenant-General Turan, but the signs were not good. Galgan maintained that they might be surprised at the outcome, but Tuon had seen a black dove the hour she was informed of Turan’s