did the heir, Leonel, escape the palace but I also know that the other adopted son who was simple of mind, also somehow got away. He was lost, in fact, for want of a better word. Freath was inconsolable and as I did not have the stomach for his intrigues and what they required, I agreed to leave the relative safety of the palace to find Piven. I found Reuth first but I have never stopped looking for the boy."
"This is all fascinating, I'll admit," Greven said, eyeing the couple, masking his despair with an ingenuous smile and a soft shake of the head. It seemed his fears had finally come home to roost this bright Blossomtide day. "But I fail to see how - "
"The boy you live with is the son of the Valisar royals, isn't he?" Reuth pressed, leaning forward.
Greven didn't know how to answer. He froze, searching for the right response that did not incriminate him or Piven.
Clovis sighed. "Master Lark, you should know that as a Master Diviner, my inherent skills have assisted in finding you. But, more importantly, my wife has visions. It was her magic that, after years of me searching, led me to you."
Greven regarded them both, his face deliberately devoid of expression but his insides churning with anxiety.
"You have nothing to fear from us, Master Lark," Clovis repeated. "As I explained, it has been my mission for the last decade to find the boy."
"Why?"
"Do you admit that the child you call Petor is Piven, the invalid adopted son of the Valisars?"
"Absolutely not," Greven replied, his throat threatening to close on the lie. He filled his lungs with indignation and continued, "This is an outrageous claim and I'll ask you not to levy such accusations publicly."
Clovis shook his head. "I only want to protect him. I would do nothing that might bring him harm. I know you wish only the same, which is why you are covering Piven's true identity."
"Master Barrow - "
"May we meet him?" Reuth asked, cutting across Greven's outrage.
"Pardon?"
"May we meet the boy? Although I only know of the child, Clovis has seen him at close range. He will know him."
"I have no intention of permitting you to scrutinize my son," Greven snapped. "How dare you," he muttered. "How dare you walk into my life like this and make such claims."
Clovis shook his head with sorrow. "Master Lark, I witnessed many people lose their lives brutally on the order of the barbarian tyrant. Reuth watched her beloved former husband led away to be slaughtered in a dingy courtyard; she could hear his death cries alongside those of the others who posed as Vested. My first wife and my precious infant daughter were hacked to death by the barbarian warrior who calls himself general. Our magnanimous emperor who now masquerades as a just and good ruler stole his crown in a sea of blood, Master Lark. I'm sure you know that."
Greven nodded unhappily, shocked and helplessly touched by the tale of this pair.
"We have reason to hold a grudge against the tyrant."
"But what does my son have to do with your mission?" Greven asked carefully.
"If he is your son, then he has nothing to do with us," Clovis said. "If he is Piven, as we believe he is, then he is integral to the struggle."
"The struggle? What are you talking about?"
Clovis lowered his voice still further. "To reinstate the true king onto his throne."
Greven looked back at the intense expressions on the couple's faces. They were earnest. "Piven?"
"No, Leo," Clovis said. "We all believe he lives."
"We?"
"The Vested," Reuth answered. "Those of us who survived took a marking." She turned, pulling back her ear and Greven saw a crescent moon marked in ink on her skin. "Master Lark, I should admit to you that my curious and contrary skill is to sense when something bad might occur. It is a strong power when it speaks to me but it speaks rarely. For instance, I knew they were coming for me, even though we had hidden my talent all my life. I also knew my husband would die, no matter what we did to protect him. I sensed that the royal family would suffer - I didn't see the deaths but I sensed there would be only misery for the Valisars who might survive. And, Master Lark, when you first walked into this courtyard I sensed a terrible foreboding. I don't know if it is for you, or your son, or whether