Miles came down the last few steps and crossed the antechamber to the First Lord's meditation chamber. There were still scorch marks on the floor from the fires Tavi and Kitai had started, but the various kinds and colors of blood had been cleaned away. The door to the meditation chamber was half-open, but Miles paused outside it and knocked quietly.

"Come in, Miles," came Gaius's voice.

Miles pushed the door open and went in. Gaius sat in a chair by the little desk, lips pursed thoughtfully as he wrote something on a page. He finished it, signed it, and calmly folded the page and sealed it shut with wax and the hilt of his signet dagger. "What brings you here, Miles?"

"The usual," Miles said. "We have found nothing in the Deeps, beyond that odd cavern the vord had taken as a nest. There has been no sign of them elsewhere, but I have dispatched word to the Legions of every city to exercise extreme caution should anything happen that might indicate a vord presence."

"Fine," Gaius said. After a moment, he mused, "Did you know that the vord, in one form or another, utterly ignored Tavi's presence in at least three instances?"

Miles frowned. "I saw him scamper out of a crowd of them. At the time, I just a.s.sumed he'd been quick enough to get away. And they did attack him immediately after."

"But not until he struck at the queen with a spear," Gaius mused.

"You aren't suggesting that the boy is in league with them, are you?" Miles said.

Gaius arched an eyebrow. "Naturally not. But it is an anomaly which I do not yet understand. Perhaps it was nothing-mere luck. But what if it wasn't? It might tell us something important about them."

"Do you think they are yet here?"

"I am not entirely certain. It's odd," Gaius said, thoughtfully. "I've looked for their presence. I haven't sensed it."

"According to Count Calderon, they were very difficult to detect with crafting, sire."

Gaius nodded and waved a hand. "Well. We are aware of them. We are on the watch for them. It is all we can do for the time being."

"Yes, sire." He looked around the room. "It cleaned up nicely."

Gaius sighed. "I can't believe those two employed my entire liquor cabinet as a weapon against the enemy."

Miles pursed his lips and frowned. "Sire, may I-"

"Speak candidly, yes, yes." He waved an irritated hand. "How many times must I tell you that you do not need to ask?"

"Once more at least, s.e.xtus," Miles said. "I don't mourn your liquor cabinet. Blessing in disguise. You were drinking too much."

The First Lord frowned pensively, but did not dispute the captain.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Miles said.

"Did what?"

"You brought Fade here. You arranged for Tavi to share a room with Antillar Maximus. You wanted them to become friends."

Gaius smiled faintly, but he said nothing.

"Is he what I think he is?" Miles asked.

"He's a Cursor, Miles. He's a former apprentice shepherd."

"Crows, s.e.xtus," Miles said, irritated. He scowled at the First Lord. "You know what I mean."

The First Lord gave Miles a very direct look. "He has no crafting, Miles. So long as that is true, he will never be anything more than what he is."

Miles frowned and looked away.

"Miles," Gaius chided, "is it such a bad thing, what he is now?"

"Of course not," Miles said, and sighed. "It's just that..."

"Patience, Miles. Patience." Gaius took the letter he'd written in hand and rose. Miles fell in beside him as the First Lord walked to the door. "Oh," Gaius said. "Which reminds me. Don't restock that liquor cabinet. Have it removed."

Miles stopped in his tracks and blinked. "You aren't..." He gestured vaguely at the mosaic.

Gaius shook his head. "I need my rest."

Miles frowned faintly at the First Lord. "I don't understand."

"I must bear up a little longer, Miles. To do that, I need my health." He looked back at the mosaic, and there was sudden grief in his expression. "It was arrogant of me, to behave as if I had no limits. If I don't respect them now..." He shrugged. "The next time I might not wake up."

"Bear up a little longer?" Miles asked.

Gaius nodded. "Hold on. Prevent Aquitaine and Kalare from sinking us into a war of succession-and there will will be one, Miles, once I am gone. But I can buy time." be one, Miles, once I am gone. But I can buy time."

"For what?"

"For a change in the boy."

Miles frowned. "If he doesn't change?"

Gaius shook his head. "Then he doesn't. Unless matters change, no one hears of this, Miles. Even rumor and suspicion would make him a marked man. We must protect him, inasmuch as we can."

"Aye, sire," Miles replied.

Gaius nodded and started walking steadily up the stairway.

Miles followed the First Lord back up the steps to the palace, silently afraid of the future.

Also by Jim Butcher * * *

The Codex Alera * * *

FURIES OF CALDERON

ACADEM'S FURY

CURSOR'S FURY

CAPTAIN'S FURY

PRINCEPS' FURY

FIRST LORD'S FURY

The Dresden Files

STORM FRONT

FOOL MOON

GRAVE PERIL

SUMMER KNIGHT

DEATH MASKS

BLOOD RITES

DEAD BEAT

PROVEN GUILTY

WHITE NIGHT

SMALL FAVOR

TURN COAT