“Of Princess Sioned, one of us, there is no word. I sought her myself and she is not to be found. But we know from the Sunrunner Kleve in Tiglath that the High Prince’s daughter Ianthe holds Prince Rohan.”
Urival, seated just beside her, muttered, “Not for long, if I know Sioned.”
Andrade tried to ignore the panic this remark brought to her heart. “Though we are free to weave the sunlight, we are pent in this keep. Urival and I have been discussing ways to free some of us in secret while the rest remain here, soothing Lord Lyell’s troops into thinking we are all still caged. We have—”
“I can do it.”
Andrade stared down the hall to where Pandsala had risen from her chair.
“I can free some of us,” the princess said. “Lyell’s men will not detain my father’s daughter in her escape from the keep.”
Urival sucked in a breath and Andrade cursed herself for not having thought of Pandsala earlier. Suspicions darted through her mind, but she let Urival voice them.
“Is this escape to be for our benefit—or yours?” he asked coldly.
“I understand your hesitation,” Pandsala replied. “It is true I would rather be out in the world. But I have had chances before and not taken them. Do you think I would give aid to my father, who sent me here against my will? He cast me out. You took me in. I wear three faradhi rings. If you do not trust me, do not use me.”
Urival would have questioned her further, but the dignity of her reply had impressed Andrade. She gestured her chief steward to silence, and said, “Tell me what you propose.”
The princess clasped her hands before her, not quite tightly enough to hide their excited tremors. “At dusk, when the light is uncertain and torches are needed, I and whomever you choose will leave by the postern gate. When we are within range of Lord Lyell’s camp, make an outcry here to encourage the idea that I have escaped with my friends.”
“And then?” Urival prompted, suspicion still in his voice.
“I am a frightened princess,” Pandsala said with a hint of a smile. “I will require guards to take me to my father’s camp in Syr. To deplete Lord Lyell’s troops by ten or twelve would not be much, but it would help a little. And there would also be at least one man, possibly two, who would have to ride to Waes and inform his lordship of my action. If we are fortunate, we can rid Goddess Keep of fifteen men.”
“Fifteen of fifty,” Urival mused.
“And I will insist that the very best fighters accompany me,” Pandsala added slyly. “It is my right, after all.”
Andrade nodded slowly. “Very well. Urival, Pandsala, attend me in my chambers. The rest of you—sleep soundly tonight, for there will be much to keep you busy tomorrow.”
As she walked down the long aisle between the tables to the door, Urival and Pandsala joined her. Andrade’s gaze shifted to Chiana—who suddenly looked too much like her father for Andrade’s peace of mind.
“If Rohan wants some use out of this place once this is over, we can’t continue to camp here.” Chay turned from the window and faced his wife, who was changing out of dusty riding clothes into fresh ones. He frowned at her. “Tobin, I need you to set things straight here at the manor. You’re not coming out into the field with me.”
“Stop me,” she invited, and pulled on her boots. “You’re the military commander, but I’m my father’s daughter. And until Rohan and Sioned arrive—”
“Whatever possessed that foolish woman to leave?” he growled, pacing the chamber with an agitation he would never have shown to anyone else. “Of all the stupid—”
“Oh, don’t you understand?” she exclaimed. “There’s no help for Rohan but Sioned!”
“I gathered that much, thank you,” he snapped. “But I still say that with a small troop—”
“You’re forgetting what Feruche is like. And what Sioned is like, too.” Tobin rose and stamped her feet to secure the fit of her boots. “Did you expect her to sit here and wait for us to arrive and try to talk her out of it? Goddess, how I wish I was a real Sunrunner! We’ve nobody to use in contacting her or Andrade or anyone!” She tucked her shirt into her trousers and went on, “Let’s go, Chay. I want to look at the provisions in the field camp. And you’re right about having to