As Kahldar jogged down the irregular tunnels, Selida's voice ricocheted up to him: "Ransom these men back to the Fox if you must, but stay your barbaric Dawnland tortures. I have just healed them, and by the Law of Salvage, their flesh belongs to the Goddess. Aluna will not have it."

"Did I not command you last night not to touch them with prayer?"

"In this I act under Aluna's will, not yours."

"Then it is lucky for Wyvernsvow that within the Dominion, matters of security exceed the purview of the church. Stand aside, Cleric."

Kahldar stepped into the makeshift gaol and saw Selida standing in the doorway of a stone cell, arms spread. She wore her teal vestments and tide-colored stole, but not her breastplate. Her hair, in its customary loops, glowed in the torchlight. Under her eyes sat deep purple shadows. He could feel invisible serpents seething in the air around her. Behind her, last night's prisoners stirred, still bound. Before her stood Ser Aegison and three other guardsmen. Ser Aegison's blade still sat in its sheath, but his hand hovered ominously near it. The others, Dawnlanders all, exchanged glances.

Kahldar pitched his voice to a quiet carry. "Lady Selida," he said, "these men attacked us last night."

She did not turn her head, but he saw her eyes dart to him before returning to focus on Ser Aegison. "They did not kill any of you."

Ser Aegison's lips curled back on his teeth. "Not for lack of trying."

"You have not killed any of them either," Selida said. "Without casualties, last night's sortie is a mere misunderstanding between neighbors." She lowered her voice to a cool, soothing tide. "Just—arrange to speak with the Fox. Then all of this will fade into memory."

Ser Aegison tensed in a way Kahldar knew presaged violence. "There will be no conversation with bandits," he snapped. "And I will not risk the safety of this castle for your foolish Tideland traditions. Someone told these men where and how to strike last night. They and the knowledge in their heads belongs to the King."

The lithe muscles in Selida's pale arms sprang out against her skin as she braced herself in the doorway. Her chin dropped. "Then have your King come down to take it from them himself," she hissed. "Or does he only wield the lash through his dogs?"

"Selida," Kahldar snapped, before Ser Aegison could draw. As he strode forward he willed her hypnotic gaze to turn to his. "Selida, think. If another attack catches us unawares, innocent lives may be lost. It is our duty to safeguard those who have come to us for protection. To do that, we must know what these men know."

She stood her ground as he closed the distance between them. "Then ask them politely."

"If we do, will they answer truthfully?" he inquired. He was standing a handsbreath from her now, Ser Aegison behind him.

Her aqua eyes snapped. "Would you, if you were in their position?"

"I might, if I were painlessly compelled to do so by my Goddess."

He saw her lips twitch, but she bowed her head a fraction. "Such rituals take preparation. I could have something for you tomorrow."

He frowned, keeping his voice gentle. "Time is a luxury we do not have. Who else will you risk by having us delay?"

"Send a reply to The Fox," she said. Was that a thread of supplication in her voice? "He will not press his attack if you show some sign of reciprocation."

"Enough." Ser Aegison stepped forward. "Ser Kahldar, remove Lady Selida from my presence."

She stared up at him.

"My apologies," he said.

He saw her jaw tighten; saw the exact moment when her temper overwhelmed her good sense. It made him more sympathetic, not less, as she snapped her fingers and the torches became snakes, plunging the room into darkness and chaos.

***

Standing at parade rest just inside the closed doorway, Kahldar watched Selida pace the length of the chapel. Her hasty, irritated steps frothed the hem of her split skirts.

"Come and sit," Lady Magnus said from the chair where she sat with her embroidery. "Since one of the prisoners survived, all will be resolved anon."

Selida was not looking at either of them as she circled. Ser Aegison had ordered the torture commence immediately. Though they could not hear the cries from the cellars, Kahldar knew Selida imagined them; the tendons of her hands flexed as she rubbed her arms. He imagined something worse: what would happen if Ser Aegison decided she should be the subject of his next interrogations.

Selida frowned at Lady Magnus. "Can't you see that torture is wrong? The slow destruction and perversion of the body?"

"I see that as a cleric, blessed with a healing touch, you find it particularly egregious." Lady Magnus patted the chair beside herself. "Come. Your mind will ease if you stop your churning."

Selida ignored her. "Where is Lord Lydris now? Surely you would not let him witness this barbarism."

"Of course not. I left him with Old Meg, so I could come and be here with you."

Kahldar saw Selida struggle with some inner turmoil. Finally, she managed, "You cannot shield him from the truth of this forever. His knight commander is peeling a man in his home, layer by layer. They will hear his screams in the kitchens."

"Such things are not for the eyes of either ladies or children."

"I don't see how Lydris's age or your sex can absolve you of this knowledge."

"Then you will never realize the power of it, either."

"I have seen torture," Kahldar said, before Selida could further undermine her standing with the Lady of the Keep. "Better that a soldier die on the field than suffer such a fate, or, worse, the betrayal of house and honor that follows."

It worked; she turned her glower on him. "Of course there was nothing you could have done to stop this."

"I could have killed those men last night, rather than taking them prisoner. But they seemed hesitant to engage, and I do not slay my enemies unless I must."

"Will you show future invaders more lethal mercy, now that you know this is to be their fate?"

"Perhaps."

Her mouth flattened. "I suppose if you were Knight Commander, you would choose to lash them as well?"

He opened a hand, but not in denial. "There are many reasons I have not sought to lead."

At this Lady Magnus dropped her stitching. "Come, Ser Kahldar — there is loyalty, and then there is false modesty. All men desire command."

"Forgive me, my lady, but no. I do not seek authority; I seek purpose. There is a difference."

Selida's eyes narrowed. "But without authority, you are ever at other people's purposes."

"So long as I believe in those purposes," Kahldar responded, "it is enough. I swore to guarantee the safety of Lord Lydris the Elder, and all who shelter in his keep. To this day, I am honored to do so."

Selida tossed her head, pivoted on her heel and started another lap around the chapel.

"Keep the viper in her little blue room," Ser Aegison had barked after they'd killed the snakes, restored the torches, and beat the remaining prisoner back into his cell. Kahldar had not participated in the bulk of this, having grabbed Selida and heaved her over his good shoulder. Her weight was no problem, but wrestling her kicking and thrashing form back to the staircase amidst the melee was another matter. Still, she had unleashed no killing prayers on him and he counted this strategy a victory, even if it had reopened his wound from last night. "You understand?" Ser Aegison had said. "Do not let her out."

Kahldar's shoulder throbbed. He ignored it. "Are there no orders that you follow, however reluctantly, in Aluna's name? No marriages you perform which you think suspect, no blessings you render upon the unworthy?"

"Aluna allows me to keep my own council," she snapped. "It is why I chose Her, and not the path my father laid out for me."

"Even so, you serve a Grand Cleric. Where there is worldly power, there are ever orders that must be obeyed."

"The Grand Cleric is a good judge of character. Her wisdom sends me far away for long periods of time, to do as I judge best."

Lady Magnus sighed. "Selida, there is a peace in obeying another's will, especially if it is a will you trust." Her voice turned gently beseeching. "Perhaps this can be one of those instances."

Before Selida could snap a reply, Kahldar heard Ser Aegison's tread in the hallway. In his wake followed half a dozen guardsmen. Kahldar forced his voice to ease. "They are here, milady." Then he opened the door.

Ser Aegison, grim and blood flecked, filled the frame. He nodded firmly at Kahldar, and then fixed his eyes on Selida.

"You," Ser Aegison said. "Cleric. In addition to obstructing the King's justice, our prisoner accuses you of treason against this castle and the King."

With incredible effort, Kahldar held himself still. Face blank.

Her lips writhed with scorn. "Of course he did. You tortured him. He would have renounced the sea to make you stop."

"He claims it was to your lantern that he and his fellows were instructed to gather on the battlement."

Kahldar had been watching her face for some time now; he was certain he saw her flinch; so slight he was sure nobody else noticed. "I dropped my lantern to run to the aid of your men."

"You dropped it in a space on the wall empty of guards. Only Ser Kahldar's excellent positioning saw the attackers safely repelled."

"My lantern remained on the wall at that position because there were no men to take it back to the guardhouse."

Lady Magnus put down her embroidery to regard the scene. "You have an accusation, and a denial from a cleric of the church." She regarded both Selida and Ser Aegison, her veiled voice regretful. "A cleric who has also healed your men, and who refills our cistern and bolsters our larders. What do you propose?"

"I would like her staked to the courtyard and flogged."

Kahldar watched Selida tense until the bones of her throat stood out like the ribs on a starving deer. A corresponding acid etched at his chest.

Lady Magnus tilted her head in reproachful bemusement. "Truly, Ser Aegison? Ambiguity in the overlap between Aluna's laws and the Dominion's gives us space to learn to get along, do you not think?"

Ser Aegison, red, opened his mouth.

Kahldar cleared his throat. His commander glowered his way, and Kahldar saw in the twitch under his eye that he did remember: yes, the refugees would have much to say if their Knight Commander flogged their Cleric.

Ser Aegison's lips pruned. "House arrest, then. Cleric, you are henceforth confined to these quarters. We will bolt your door from the outside to guard against escape or further sabotage."

"Turn Aluna's chapel into a prison?" Lady Magnus still sounded puzzled. "But however shall Lady Selida attend to her duties from here?"

"We can bring the wounded to her."

"And... the cistern?"

"We can bring vessels for her to fill."

Emmeline gaze grew distant, as if calculating weights and volumes.

Ser Aegison ground his teeth. "Many. Vessels."

"There is a woman in the stables who is about to give birth. Do you think you could spare the men to carry her pallet up the stairs to the chapel and then back down for the swaddling?"

"For pity's sake," Selida snapped. "Ser Kahldar is as dense and as unyielding as any door. If you insist on this foolishness, then let him be my warden, so that my prison may at least travel with me."

"Ridiculous," Ser Aegison barked.

"Surely you cannot worry that his loyalty could be suborned by my wiles."

"I think it's a lovely idea," Lady Magnus said. She smiled first at Ser Aegison and then at Kahldar. "I feel in my heart that Aluna agrees."

Ser Aegison turned his glower at Kahldar. "You'd be willing to shepherd around this serpent?"

Kahldar hid the relief in his voice under a layer of professional monotony. "As my lord commands."

"Fine," Ser Aegison ground out. "But she is to be watched at all times, and if the keep falls due to her trickery, on your head and honor be it."

Kahldar bowed.

Ser Aegison rounded on her. "And you, viper, you keep your mouth to yourself. You are to leave this room only if accompanied by Ser Kahldar, Lady Magnus, or myself. You will resume your duties in the kitchen and cistern only under our supervision. Is that clear?"

Selida's lips flattened with rage. "If I wished to harm your men and break this siege, I could blight your provisions and sicken your people. I could fill the barracks with adders." Her voice rose. "Do you think I would play some foolish game with a lantern in the dark?"

"Selida," Kahldar said, "your words are not helping."

Her lips smiled in his direction, but her eyes blazed. "Thank goodness for your presence, Ser Knight. I look forward to more good counsel born of your worldly experience in the many long hours to come."

Lady Magnus ignored her. "Lydris must be climbing the walls by now. Selida, could you see to the poor woman in the stables? I fear her child is turned around."

Selida continued to glower at him. "What fun for you."

"After that," Lady Magnus said, "perhaps you could mend Ser Kahldar's shoulder? It's bleeding through his mail."

Kahldar saw Selida turn guiltily to inspect his pauldron. Her cheeks now reminded him of the red autumns in his home valley, unrepentant in their vibrancy. "You move so easily, I forgot." Then she stepped back, still studying him. "I need to get my kit. One moment."

"I will be here," he said. And thereby let no harm come of you, or to you.

Her eyes narrowed, as if she read this unspoken coda in his face. But she turned away all the same, and disappeared behind the altar for her implements.