Omasta dropped his bread on the table and followed his lord. Darmouth stopped in the arched doorway and looked back at Hedi. Omasta had to sidestep out of his way.

"I don't like your hair this morning," Darmouth said. "Don't wear it that way again."

Hedi lowered her eyes in obeisance, and Darmouth left without further comment. Under the table, she crushed the fabric of her gown's skirt in her hand.

Perhaps she should shave her head and see how he liked it. She'd hated Darmouth more than any other person-except for the one who had murdered her father in his sleep. All eyes in the room were upon her now, and her appetite faded.

She stood up and walked out into the main entryway, wondering what to do with herself. Directly across the way was the council hall, where she had sat at dinner two nights before next to the true monster in this land. She had no intention of visiting there.

To either side of the staircase were corridors leading left and right behind the halls. As far as she could see, there were no other passages, and no stairs leading downward. She stepped around the central stairs and into the left corridor that headed north. It stretched a good way, then turned right. She followed it, stopping short of the corner to peek around the turn. At the end of another long passage, two soldiers stood guarding a door. She retreated and retraced her steps to the entryway.

The right-hand corridor heading south produced the same result- two guards standing before an identical door. Perhaps one or both doorways led beneath the keep. She was eager to search the keep's interior to expand Byrd's maps.

Darmouth had forbidden her to wander into the depths below, but there were still the upper levels. If anyone stopped her, she could always give the pretense that she had lost her way while returning to her room.

Hedi climbed the central stairs. She passed two servants along the way but no soldiers. As she reached the second-floor landing, movement caught her eye. Julia stepped from a room near the corridor's end with a tray of empty dishes.

Was someone else a "guest" of the keep?

Hedi counted the doors to the one Julia exited and then circled around to the next flight of stairs upward. She waited out of sight, and then peeked cautiously back around the stone railing into the corridor. Julia descended toward the main floor.

When Hedi was certain the maid was on her way, she doubled back. As she approached the door, she heard soft and high singing. It sounded like a little girl, but Hedi could not imagine why a child would be here in the keep. To the best of her knowledge, Darmouth had no family or relatives, especially not a daughter or niece.

She knocked lightly at the door. "Hello?"

The singing stopped, and an instant later the door opened. A small face looked up at Hedi.

The girl was no more than ten, and was small-boned and slender. She wore a simple cream-colored dress, and her thick, chocolate-black hair was tied in a white ribbon that made her dusky complexion look even darker. Deep brown eyes looked up at Hedi. There was something vaguely familiar about the girl's appearance.

Hedi smiled. "Hello, I'm a guest here, but there is not much to do. Would you care for some company?"

The girl looked quite surprised and smiled. "In my room? You want to come in?"

"Of course… unless you would prefer a walk instead?"

The girl shook her head, little face scrunched in a stubborn frown. "I'm not supposed to go out without Julia and Devid."

"Who is Devid?"

She rolled her eyes with a sharp sigh. "He has a sword. He protects me from bad things."

Hedi wondered why the little girl needed a bodyguard inside the keep. This was the first child she had ever seen here. The girl shoved the door wide with her small hands.

"Do you want to see my dolls?"

"Yes, I would like that very much."

Hedi stepped into a pleasant little room quite out of place in the stronghold of a tyrant.

Austere stone walls were softened by small tapestries of fantastical creatures, from a serpentine dragon to strange, thin-lipped people covered in downy feathers with wings to hide their bodies. There was one of a small, dark-brown cat perched on the back of a stag of silver-gray hue, though its coat was longer than that of any deer Hedi had seen. Its horns were single long curves without prongs. A four-poster bed filled most of the room, but there was space enough for a bookshelf filled with dolls and toy animals. A large trunk with stuffed pillows atop it rested at the foot of the bed.

"My name is Hedi. I am a guest of Lord Darmouth. Are you a guest here, too?"

"I'm no guest. I'm Korey," she answered, as if this should be obvious. "I live here with Papa and Mama."

Hedi looked into Korey's impish eyes and suddenly knew to whom the child belonged-Faris and Ventina, Darmouth's skulking attendants. Not only did Korey have the traits of a Mondyalitko, but hints of her parents' lean features were obvious in the girl.

"Come see Selina!" Korey said and grabbed Hedi's hand. "She's my favorite. She has yellow hair, and I always wanted yellow hair."

Hedi followed Korey to the bed. A beautiful doll with a porcelain head sat against the pillow. Korey reminded Hedi of her little sisters, always eager to show new guests their toys and dolls, like exotic treasures acquired by their father from faraway places. Hedi never told them otherwise, not spoiling their childhood fantasy that the world was a wide and inviting place awaiting them.

A fresh wave of grief passed through Hedi before she could stop it. She took a short breath, forcing back her soft smile.

"How often do you see your mother and father?" she asked.

"Often?" Korey frowned slightly. Perhaps time was still a difficult concept for her. "Devid and Julia take me to see them. Sometimes Papa takes me out to the courtyard, but Julia has to come with us."

So Darmouth never allowed the child out of sight, always under a watchful eye… even with her own parents? It sounded as if they were not even allowed in Korey's room, alone with her.

Korey was a hostage. This was no surprise to Hedi. Everyone in this land was a slave in some way, shackled by fear and the threat of death. Though it did make her wonder about Paris and Ventina. What services did they provide that Darmouth found so essential, that the bastard would lock up their daughter to ensure fealty?

Little Korey was eager for company, even that of a stranger.

"Do you have any games?" Hedi asked. "We could play."

"Games?" Korey's face brightened. "You can stay for a game? I have cards. Papa said he would teach me, but he hasn't. Do you know how to play with cards?"

"I do," Hedi assured her.

Korey's blossoming excitement made Hedi's sadness grow, but she kept it hidden from the girl. She sat on the bed's edge, smoothing the comforter, and began laying out cards facedown in a square pattern.

"The first game is called Catch the King," she whispered with a smile.

Korey giggled back. They spent the day there, Hedi careful never to let Korey realize they were both prisoners.

Magiere stood anxiously waiting with Wynn and Chap before the gatehouse archway and the long bridge to the keep. She needed to prepare herself for what came next, but that damn keep filled up her sight.

It was daunting up close, though she'd seen larger strongholds. Four square towers shot up at its corners, adding to the impression that the whole thing had risen from the water one forgotten night to loom over the city shoreline. Suddenly her plan to play Darmouth so she could get inside seemed weak. She shouldn't be taking Chap or Wynn anywhere near this place. She braced herself for an audience with the despot, but the memory of Leesil's lost eyes and sweaty face, as he crouched with stiletto in hand, still filled Magiere's head. Especially when she looked at the keep.