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specific. I just commented that his invitations had stopped once I’d started, assisting you, then I looked cautious, but interested.”
    “You shouldn’t have…” Dannyl frowned. “How many times have you had these invitations?”
    The scholar chuckled. “You sound jealous, Dannyl. Only once or twice a year. Not invitations, really. He just hints that I’m still welcome to attend his parties.”
    “And these hints stopped when you started assisting me?”
    “Obviously he’s terribly intimidated by you.”
    Dannyl paced the room. “You’ve just hinted that we’ve guessed what he and his friends are up to. If they are as involved as Akkarin says, they’ll take even the slightest hint of danger seriously.
Very
seriously.”
    Tayend’s eyes widened. “I just… sounded interested.”
    “That is probably enough to send Marane into a panic. He’s probably considering what to do about us right now.”
    “What will he do?”
    Dannyl sighed. “I doubt he’ll wait around to see if the Guild comes to arrest him. He’s probably considering ways to silence us. Blackmail. Murder.”
    “Murder! But… surely he’d know I wouldn’t have approached him if I was going to turn him in? If I was going to turn him in I’d just… turn him in.”
    “Because you only suspect he’s a rebel,” Dannyl replied. “He’ll be expecting us to do exactly what we’re planning to do—pretend to want to join them in order to confirm our suspicions. That’s why Akkarin suggested we give him something to blackmail us with.”
    Tayend sat down and rubbed his forehead. “Do you really think he might try to kill me?” He cursed, “I just saw an opportunity and, and…”
    “No. If he has any sense, he won’t risk trying to kill you.” Dannyl leaned against the table. “He’ll be finding out as much about us as possible, considering what is precious to us. What he could threaten to harm. Family. Wealth. Honor.”
    “Us?”
    Dannyl shook his head. “Even if he has heard rumors, he would not rely on them. He wants something he’s sure of. If we’d arranged for our little secret to come into his hands before this, we could rely on him aiming for that.”
    “Do we still have time?”
    Dannyl considered the scholar. “I suppose if we act quickly…”
    The bright excitement in the scholar’s eyes was gone. Dannyl wasn’t sure what he wanted to do more: give Tayend a reassuring hug or shake some sense into him. By seeking to learn magic on their own, the Elyne courtiers had broken one of the Allied Land’s most important laws. Punishment for breaking it, depending on the circumstances, was imprisonment for life or even execution. The rebels would take any threat of discovery very seriously.
    By the miserable look on Tayend’s face, Dannyl knew that if the danger hadn’t sunk in before, it had now. Sighing, he crossed the room and rested his hands on Tayend’s shoulders.
    “Don’t worry, Tayend. You set things in motion a little early, that’s all. Let’s find Irand and tell him we need to act straightaway.”
    Tayend nodded, then rose and followed him to the door.
    It was late when Sonea heard the tapping at her bedroom door. She sighed with relief. Her servant, Viola, was late and Sonea was craving her nightly cup of raka.
    “Come in.” Without looking up, she sent a thought at the door and willed it open. When the servant didn’t move into the room, Sonea looked up and felt her blood freeze.
    Akkarin stood in the doorway, all but his pale face hidden in the shadowy passage. He moved and she saw that he was carrying two large, heavy books. The cover of one was stained and tattered.
    With her heart beating quickly, she stood and reluctantly approached the door, stopping a few strides away to bow.
    “Have you finished the diary?” he asked.
    She nodded. “Yes, High Lord.”
    “And what did you make of it?”
    What should she say? “It… it answers a lot of questions,” she said evasively.
    “Such