She choked on a sob and threw her arms around her brother. "I love you, L'iam! Please be careful!"

Around them, the others were also saying their goodbyes. Sa'jan shook Aleron's hand and gripped his shoulder, pa.s.sing on a few words of wisdom. E'nes and Adesina stood close to each other, speaking in low voices. L'era could barely hear what the former Shimat was saying to her brother.

"I want you to take this with you," she said, handing him a belt lined with a few small darts.

E'nes smiled ruefully. "Are these the ones that knocked L'iam and myself flat?"

She tried to return his smile, but failed. "Yes. There are only five, but it will be better than nothing."

He tried to give them back to her. "You may need them more than us."

Adesina put her hands behind her back, shaking her head. "No, you will need them. I only hope that five will be enough."

He embraced her, whispering words of comfort in her ear. When they broke away, Adesina turned to speak to Aleron once more.

The young man nodded uncomfortably, as if faced with a difficult task. L'era was about to smirk, surmising that he didn't want to be left alone with her, when she froze. She watched as Aleron leaned down and quickly kissed Adesina on the cheek.

Scared by his own daring, he hurried away from her, his eyes fixed on the ground. The princess' eyes first went to Adesina, who was looking after him with a stunned expression on her face; then to L'iam, who was doing his best to appear indifferent.

They all mounted their horses, except for L'era and Aleron. Adesina faced her brother for what might be the last time. She seemed about to say a number of things, but stopped herself each time.

Finally, she settled with, "Remember, we enter the fortress at midnight tonight."

E'nes nodded, his eyes swimming with tears. "We will see you in the Shimat stables."

With that, both parties rode off. E'nes and Sa'jan heading east; Adesina, L'iam and Ravi heading south. L'era watched them for a moment before heaving a sigh and walking over to her horse.

Aleron watched her movements in alarm. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I am doing?" she replied tersely. "I am following them!"

He ran over to her side. "Adrie said that we were to stay here!"

She clenched her jaw. "If you think I am letting my brother go on alone-"

"Please, L'era," he pled, "stay here, like you were told."

The L'avan princess refused to listen to him. "You can either come with me or stay behind. Either way, I am going."

Aleron was almost beside himself. "Please do not make me do this!"

She was about to ask him what he was talking about when she felt a sharp pain and cried out. She looked down to see that he had pressed a small knife in the crook of her arm just hard enough to draw blood.

"What-?"

L'era's head began to spin and she felt a heavy drowsiness spread over her body. Her mind sluggishly registered that there must have been some sort of compound on the blade of the knife.

Aleron put his arms around her and gently lowered her to the ground. "I am sorry. She made me promise to keep you here."

Her vision began to darken, but she still struggled against the drug that was pumping through her system. "L'iama"

Adesina sat crouched among the branches, as she had when she had taken her final examination two years ago. There was a feeling of irony as she considered the girl that she had been back then. She had thought that she knew everything, she had thought herself invincible. She had also been completely alone, and had often tried to convince herself that such solitude was what she preferred.

If she had known back then all the things she knew nowa She sighed and glanced at the moon for what felt like the hundredth time. It was probably still an hour before midnight.

L'iam shifted slightly on the branch next to her. He was wrapped in his long cloak, and his face was hidden by his cowla"just as Adesina had instructed. She was in her full Shimat attire, including the hood and scarf. Ravi waited down on the ground, next to the horses.

Adesina waited until there was only a half hour left before turning to her companion. "I need you to go ride the horses in circles until it is time to go."

He frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"Because we need to appear as if we have come from a long distance at a fast pace. They will notice if our horses are too well rested."

He asked no more questions, but climbed down out of the tree where they had been keeping watch. He mounted his horse and took Adesina's by the reigns. Then he urged them into a run, going as fast as he could in the thick forest. He wove through the trees, never slacking his speed.

The former Shimat kept an ear out for any trouble in the forest behind her, but her eyes were fixed on the fortress before her.

Once she had found comfort in the solitary strength of the building, but now it looked dark and sinister. The stone seemed to absorb the moonlight rather than reflect it, and the battlements were like crooked fingers tearing at the heavens.

Guards could be seen pacing along the wall, keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of trouble. The entire section used by the Shi was dark, but a few lights could be seen in the towers.

Adesina's heart sped up when she felt the time was upon them. She whispered down to her guardian, "Go get L'iam."

Ravi disappeared like a shadow, making no noise whatsoever. It was only a couple of minutes before she heard the soft sound of hooves against the damp ground. She climbed out of the tree and mounted her horse.

Her eyes turned to her two friends and she asked in a voice tight with tension, "Are you ready?"

They both nodded, unable to speak. Adesina had to remind herself to take a deep breath.

"Remember: keep your head down, and do not speak under any circ.u.mstance. Shimat who keep servants make sure that they are mute. Stay close, but remain at least one step behind me."

L'iam nodded again. "I remember."

She glanced at Ravi, but she was certain that he had been invisible to strange eyes for quite some time now. She took another deep breath and braced herself.

"It is time."

A sharp kick spurred their horses into a run. Adesina urged her horse to go even faster, keeping her head low to its neck.

They rode across the open gra.s.s, bathed in moonlight. A flurry of motion swept across the fortress's battlements where the Shimat guards were stationed as soon as they came into view. The two L'avan rode up the hill that led to the main gate and then slowed their horses to a stop.

"Open up!" shouted Adesina in the Shimat language. "I have an urgent message for the Sharifal!"

A whispered conversation pa.s.sed between the two guards closest to the gate before one of them addressed Adesina.

"Where do you come from, messenger?"

"That is only for the Sharifal to know," she replied haughtily.

The whispered conversation continued for a few moments more. "Dismount, Shimat. We will send down an escort."

Adesina's stomach clenched in anxiety. "We need no escort. I know the way to the Sharifal's tower."

"Even so," replied the guard, "you must be accompanied."

She dismounted, and indicated that L'iam should do the same. He gave her a panicked glance as he moved to stand behind her. She tried to appear confident, but she wasn't sure if she succeeded.

The gate opened just enough to permit two Shimat to walk through. They gestured for Adesina to pa.s.s, but held L'iam back.

"Your servant can wait here."

Her mind raced, trying to find an adequate excuse for keeping her "servant" with her. "The Sharifal requested that I bring him with me."

The two Shimat exchanged glances, as if they knew something that Adesina didn't. Finally, the first one nodded and waved them both through. On the other side of the gate they were met by two more Shimat, and led through the courtyard by all four escorts.

Adesina could feel a mult.i.tude of eyes fixed on their party as they walked through the darkened halls. She lifted her chin defiantly, as if showing that she had nothing to fear.

Even so, she was afraid.

She had not intended to actually be taken to the Sharifal's tower. It was too late to turn back, but it was also impossible to try and take on the Sharifal and her guards. Her mind was scrambling, trying to come up with some sort of plan that would save them from imminent death.

The two leading guards made an unexpected turn in the darkened corridors of the fortress. Adesina frowned and asked, "Where are we going? This is not the way to the Sharifal's tower."

"The Sharifal is not in her tower."

This gave Adesina a small measure of hope. They wouldn't have stood a chance if they had been in the confined s.p.a.ce of Signe's study. If they were going towards someplace more open, and on ground level, they might be able to overtake the guards, or at least escape.

They were led through the guarded door that went away from the Shi section of the fortress, and down a set of stairs. Torches were much more plentiful in these hallways, and L'iam lowered his head even further to hide his L'avan features from the light.

After the maze of corridors, they came to a simple wooden door. The foremost guard knocked twice, and a voice bid them to enter.

Adesina braced herself, ready to spring into action.

The room they entered was small and simple, with no windows and means of escape other than the door they were walking through. She was about to throw the Shimat nearest to her into the room and call for L'iam to bar the door, when she caught sight of the face seated across the desk.

It was Kendan.

He spotted her eyes, her only visible feature, and was just as stunned as she was. He hurried to control the emotions on his face and slowly got to his feet.

"What do you want?" he asked one of the escorts.

The Shimat in question jerked his head toward Adesina. "She claims to have a message for the Sharifal. She does not seem to be aware of the change."

Adesina didn't know what the guard meant by "the change," but she knew that there was no chance of pretending to be anyone other than herself.

"Of course not!" Kendan said sharply. "This messenger has been under deep cover."

She stared at him in shock, hardly daring to believe the words coming out of his mouth. The other Shimat seemed equally surprised.

"Sir, she fits the description of the renegadea"

Kendan cut him off impatiently. "Do you suppose I would not know the renegade when I saw her?"

"Of course not, sir!"

He waved his hand at them. "Then leave us."

"But, sir-"

He silenced them with a look. They bowed their heads and started to withdraw, but he called them back.

"Wait a moment."

Kendan beckoned all four guards into his study and closed the door behind them. The Shimat watched him warily, uncertain what he was doing.

Then, with lightning quick movements, he drew a dagger from the sleeve of his black robes and slashed the throat of the guard nearest to him.

Adesina rushed to draw her sword and dispatch another, and Ravi lunged to kill a third. Kendan, who could not see Ravi, was too stunned by the mysterious death of the Shimat to react quickly enough to kill the fourth guard. That left him to L'iam.

The guard tried to escape out the door to warn the rest of the fortress, but the L'avan prince threw a knife into his retreating back. The man fell to the ground, never to move again.

Kendan stepped past L'iam to drag the body back into his study, then he bolted the door shut.

Adesina stared at him in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

He produced four small white squares of cloth, staining each of them with the blood of the fallen Shimat and then placing the cloth on the fire to burn.

"I lied to them in order to protect you, and there can be no witnesses to such a betrayal."

Her frown deepened. "Others have seen me here, and they have probably reported it to the Sharifal. Are you going to kill all of them, too?"

"None of them know that I helped you," he replied. "Besides, the Sharifal is not here."

Adesina had been looking at the bodies strewn at their feet. Her head whipped up at this revelation. "What? Where is she?"

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. "It is enough to know that she is gone for a time."

Her expression became hard. "Where is she, Kendan?"

"It does not matter," he insisted. "You are here now, and there is nothing you can do about anything other than what happens where you are. Perhaps it is better that she is gone," he added softly.

She gave him a sarcastic stare. "Why is that?"

His dark eyes were full of unspoken emotion as he looked up at her. "Because I was left in charge, and therefore you were brought to me."

An awkward silence filled the room. Adesina didn't know how to reply to such a statement. Kendan studied her face a moment before sighing quietly and turning away.