Chapter Forty-Nine

We arrived at the stronghold with Shara landing heavily in the courtyard now bare of statues. Shara waited for us to dismount before returning to the air, making the flight back towards the camp. I wondered what she had made of our conversation – she would have heard every word that Aien and I had said, and yet she had remained silent, allowing us to speak with the illusion of privacy.

We were immediately surrounded by concerned servants. Much had changed at the stronghold I saw as we were hastened up into the hall. It was clean, the shutters open to admit the light, and the fires and torches lit. There were vases heavy with greenery, bright tapestries on the walls and rugs beneath our feet. The scent of food cooking made my stomach rumble.

The stronghold had come alive, like the statues from the courtyard.

It was not to Aien’s mother’s chamber that I was led but another, less grand, but only just, and it was more than ample for my needs. In the busyness of the maids who hastened to t