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scar from their first journey together, Alec’s on the palm of his hand, Seregil’s on his breast.
    The melancholy feeling persisted until they were well out at sea, but then, with a new day dawning and cold spray on their faces, the old excitement took over.
    “Who knows?” Alec said presently. “Maybe Klia will take us on as scouts when she’s a general again. We’d be good at that.”
    “Still envying Beka that uniform?”
    “No, I was just thinking that anything would be better than listening to you complaining about how bored you are!”
    Seregil gave Alec’s braid a sharp tug, then turned his face to wind, inhaling the sweet salt breeze, heart beating a little faster. Alec was right, though he wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of admitting it.

CHAPTER 6
    A Welcoming Port

    THE OSIAT WAS mercifully calm for this time of year, and their voyage was an uneventful one, though cold. Seregil and Alec passed the time gaming and singing with the crew. The escort Phoria had given them was small—just ten men. They were a good enough lot, except their captain, Lord Traneus.
    A sharp-eyed young man, prideful and clearly ambitious, Captain Traneus was well liked by his men but no one else. He was obsequiously polite to Seregil and Alec, but now and then his gaze seemed to rest on them just a little too long for comfort. Keeping Magyana’s warning in mind, Seregil was chilly in return, having the advantage of blood. Alec just did his best to keep away from the man.
    Apart from that, Alec was glad to be on the water again and passed the time helping the sailors and watching for dolphins and spouting whales. At night, he and Seregil bundled up in warm cloaks and stretched out on a hatch cover to watch the stars wheeling through the rigging.
    So far, Seregil had said little about returning to his clan, even though this was the first time since their mission to Sarikali with Princess Klia.
    “Are you glad to be going home again?” Alec asked, their second night at sea.
    Seregil smiled. “Yes. It’s a bit simpler this time, isn’t it?”
    “Think I’ll meet the rest of your sisters?”
    “Maybe.” But his tone was neither hopeful nor particularly enthusiastic.
    Of Seregil’s four sisters, only two of them had forgiven him for the crimes of his youth. Adzriel, who’d raised Seregil after their mother’s death, was khirnari of Bôkthersa now, and Alec had been glad to become acquainted with her during their time in Sarikali. Mydri, the second oldest, was not as warm as Adzriel, but she’d been kind to Alec and at least tolerant of her wayward brother. Shalar and Ilina were another matter. They had cut all ties with Seregil when he was exiled.
    “Do you ever get angry with them? Your sisters?” asked Alec, keeping his gaze on the stars. He never knew how Seregil was going to react when asked about his past, especially his family.
    “How could I be? I committed the crime.”
    “But you were duped by that Ilar fellow.”
    Seregil was quiet for a moment, then said softly, “I should have known better.”
    “I don’t understand. You were hardly more than a child.”
    “Well, you didn’t grow up in Aurënen.”
    “Hmm. I guess neither of us has had the best experience when it comes to family.”
    Alec had known only his human father, and together they’d lived in virtual hiding from his mother’s people, the Hâzadriëlfaie. Her own kin had killed her for loving an outsider, and had tried to hunt down Alec and his father to finish the job. Alec grew up believing himself to be human, until Seregil and Nysander had convinced him of the truth. The most frustrating part was not knowing why the Hâzadriëlfaie were the way they were, or why they would care that his father wasn’t one of them. Even the oracles in Sarikali hadn’t been able to tell him that.
    Seregil reached over and smoothed his palm across Alec’s forehead. “You’re going to give yourself wrinkles, frowning like that. What’s