if they had talked themselves again into thinking of her as a lying coward.
Very well. She cared not at all if they comforted themselves with lies. When they so willfully disregarded the truth, their opinion could have no weight on her.
“Are you here to round us up, Captain?” Uland asked of Riasa.
“Soon. From here, I will see my lady off,” she told him. “Then I hope to be on the road as quickly as possible.”
“I will be ready.”
The smiling attendant returned to show the way to the storeroom, then left again to help the Kothans locate their belongings.
“Have you heard that the prince and the councilors now travel north with all the Kothan guard but their captain?” Riasa asked as she smeared the clay the attendant had given them into a thick layer across the blade of her axe.
All but Uland. Lizzan looked at her in dismay. “I knew the prince did. I thought the others would go with you.”
“That was the original intention.” She watched as Lizzan pressed the face of the medallion into the clay, then turned it over and pressed into another spot. “But the councilors decided very late to join the prince. Though they did not say so, I gathered there was worry that if you and the prince were the only ones to speak of Koth on that journey, the reputation of the realm and her king would be so sullied that the southerners might not ask Koth to join the alliance.”
That characterization sliced at Lizzan’s throat. “I did not mean to damage Koth’s chances with the alliance. Only to tell the truth.”
“If there was damage done, it was not you who did it,” said Riasa. “Perhaps your king thought he did what was right. And perhaps it was right. Queens and kings must consider what is best for an entire realm, while mere warriors such as ourselves only confront whatever dangers lie in front of us. So it is not for me to say whether painting you as a coward was best for Koth.”
Lizzan did not know, either. It had not been best for her. But if it had prevented a panic in Koth? If instead of fleeing the island and not trusting in Varrin’s protection, the thousands who stayed were saved when the Destroyer returned? Surely that was worth her life. But she simply didn’t know what was right. Her gut screamed that the truth ought to have been said . . . but her gut might merely be screaming her own self-interest.
When she made no reply, Riasa continued, “It is for me to say that your king is responsible for the choices he makes. So if there is any damage to Koth’s reputation, then it is his alone to fix. As I suspect he will have to do when the southerners reach Koth, no matter what your Lady Junica and Lord Degg have to say along the way.” She examined the clay on her blade. “This has set well enough for now. Once we have ridden beyond these giant trees, I will keep it in the sun until the clay fully hardens, and then it should slide from the blade without cracking. And if it does not, you will know when one of my warriors comes chasing after you with more clay.”
“If the monks at Radreh can identify the medallion, I’ll ask them to send a message to you,” Lizzan said as they left the storeroom.
Riasa gave her a quick look and seemed about to speak before the scene ahead distracted them both.
The captain grinned. “This must be what poor Preter had to become accustomed to.”
The Parsatheans, who hadn’t bothered with the robes while waiting for the attendant to hand out their clothes—a process in which the attendant held up identical-looking linens and belts and a warrior called out ownership of them. Beside the attendant was Seri, who seemed to be looking through the pile for a lost item, helped along by Tyzen—in a robe, clutching his clothes to his chest. The prince held up a leather pouch that looked to Lizzan like all the other pouches, but Seri shook her head and claimed it belonged to a warrior named Ferek.
Trailed by Riasa, Lizzan threaded her way through the forest of wet skin and thick muscle, exiting the baths and the hot steaming air into a cool, shaded morning. And as always, her gaze found Aerax before she saw anything else.
Upon the road south, he walked with Caeb beside him. They were