would be wrong. She was the leader. She could not favour one group of soldiers with her presence without offending the others.
“Where's Aisha and Terel?” she asked Errollyn, watching the surrounding commotion. There was a lot of music, much of it poorly played, but the dancing was of a higher quality. Udalyn and other Lenay men, having no other means of communication, resorted to songs, dances and friendly contests of strength or knife-throwing. And, of course, that age-old contest of thick-headed men who ought to know better—drinking.
“Terel found an old lady who carves wooden figures in a traditional Udalyn style,” said Errollyn. The firelight lit his eyes to a bright, flickering green that was like nothing human. He sat on an old stump, elbows on knees, gazing at the fire with a cup in his hand. “Terel's a master with wood. I believe she's giving him a tour of her cottage, it's just nearby. Aisha is no doubt off talking to every Udalyn she can. Working on her accent.”
“I saw her,” Sofy said, nodding. The cup in her hand was half empty—the first cup of wine Sofy had tasted in her life. She looked a little unsteady, but Sasha was not about to stop her sister's one night of rebellion just yet. “She was attracting quite a crowd. All very gentlemanly, I was pleased to see. And plenty of Udalyn women around to make certain their husbands did not wander.”
“She deserves a distraction or two,” Errollyn said quietly. “She misses Tassi. She does not relish the long ride back to Petrodor without her.”
Saalshen's trading interests in Petrodor were huge, Sasha knew. Kessligh said that Saalshen's wealth had built Petrodor and turned it from a little fishing village to the most wealthy city in all Rhodia. She did not pretend to understand the complex web of power and relationships between the various competing families that dominated the Petrodor trade, the trading interests of Saalshen, the mainland feudal lords, the dockside poor with their strong ties to the Nasi-Keth, and, of course, the hugely powerful Verenthane priesthood. But she was determined to learn as much as she could from Errollyn before she arrived in Petrodor herself. A three-week journey to a foreign land where she had never travelled before. A part of her looked forward to it. And a part of her dreaded it, for fear that she would truly never see her homeland or her people again.
“I'd love to see Petrodor,” Sofy sighed. “It's not fair that I have to travel all the way to the Bacosh, but I won't get to see anything interesting along the way.”
“Oh, untrue,” Errollyn said with a smile. “If your column takes the most direct route from Baen-Tar, you will travel through Vonnersen and see the riverside capital of Lanos. The crown palace there has sheer walls that rise a hundred armspans from the riverside, and towers that loom well above even that. And I hear that Telesia is a lovely place, where the highlands fade into low, and the land is rolling meadows with a thousand kinds of flower and a hundred kinds of grapevine.”
“I don't think they'll travel through Vonnersen,” Sasha replied. “When Sofy's wedding party goes, it'll be as part of the marching Lenay army. Vonnersen won't want that army marching through their lands. They've had bad experiences with Lenay armies in the past. And Telesia will want them crossing furthest from their cities too.”
Errollyn shrugged. “Well, southern Torovan is very pretty,” he offered. “And you'll travel through northern Bacosh, where there are some fantastic castles and palaces.”
“Such a long way,” Sofy said quietly. She sipped again at her wine. “Still, it shall be spring. I have a winter yet to last through.”
“I'll be there, Sofy,” Sasha assured her. “Somehow, I'll be there. You shan't be married without me, I swear it.”
When Sofy looked at her, her eyes seemed to shine in the firelight. “You shouldn't make promises you don't know if you can keep,” she replied. “I'll be fine. My father shall be there to marry me off. And some of my brothers, at least.”
Sasha shook her head. “Kessligh insists that Petrodor is the key to preventing this conflict. I'm still uncertain. I have a feeling that I'll be finding my way across to the Bacosh at some point. I think we all will, whether we like it or not.”
Sofy smiled. Then smothered a laugh behind her hand. “Oh dear,” she half-giggled. Sasha and Errollyn exchanged glances. “I'm sorry,” said Sofy,