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considering pruning back. Strands of gray had begun to appear. “I can make that commitment. But my silence won’t keep the secret.”
    “No doubt. The great symbol of the Empire is the eagle. But I’m surrounded by vultures.”
    “I’m sorry to hear that.”
    “But you’re not surprised.”
    “The price of power, Your Grace. The higher you rise the more parasites you accumulate.”
    Katrin rose from her cushions. Helspeth did the same. The Empress said, “Come with us. There’s a quiet room back here.”
    Every lifeguard and lady-in-waiting began to stir, driven to protest. Katrin snapped, “My ferocious little sister will guard me against the wicked Brothen.”
    Moments later the Empress herself shut the door of the most austere quiet room Hecht had seen. The walls were bare stone that sorcery could not penetrate. There were no furnishings.
    Hecht studied the milky rock sheathing.
    “Captain-General? I promise, it’s real. The best stone, from the quarry where Aaron and his father worked.”
    “I was looking for cracks. An acquaintance—he belongs to the Collegium—can spy on a quiet room if there’re cracks anywhere.”
    “Muniero Delari.”
    “Him. Yes.”
    “Helspeth. Stop that.”
    The younger woman was trembling.
    “All right.” The Princess Apparent feigned an abiding interest in the integrity of the stonework.
    Katrin said, “I’ll get straight to it. Excusing themselves one way or another, someone will force that door soon. Captain-General. I want to hire you away from the Church. You, your staff, and all your professional people.”
    Helspeth gasped. “Katrin?”
    “Your Grace?”
    “I swore an oath when I was crowned. Only my confessor knows. I mean to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. Leading a crusade. I want you to be its commander.”
    That Katrin might launch a crusade was no secret. But …“I don’t know what to say.”
    “I’ve been surrounded by the great men of the Grail Empire my entire life. The best of them, like the Grand Duke, are petty, self-serving, and would backstab any other lord I might appoint my champion.”
    Hecht started to protest.
    “Bad choice of words, Captain-General. Not champion. Supreme commander. General of generals. For the same reason you were made commander of the Brothen City Regiment. You have no ties to any faction.”
    “So all your dukes and grafs and ritters would be against me because I’m an interloper.”
    “My father developed tools for handling that sort. I haven’t deployed them yet. Once this marriage is made I intend to put together a new Council Advisory. Jaime and the Patriarch back me.”
    “Possibly. I suspect Jaime will be a nuisance, determined to control you.”
    Katrin’s temper flared. It was true. She would hear nothing against Jaime.
    Hecht stole a glance at Helspeth, who had been stubbornly silent. That startled her. She said, “Surely you’d find service with the Grail Empire an important step forward, Captain-General.” Her voice was breathy. It wavered.
    Katrin clearly appreciated the support but was puzzled by her sister’s shyness.
    “It would be, indeed,” Hecht said. “I can imagine no greater honor, nor any task more challenging, than being warlord for the Grail Empire in such a holy enterprise. But …”
    “But?”
    “A crusade would be expensive in the extreme. Even if every fighter volunteers, wages still have to be paid. Men have to eat. Their animals have to eat. Weapons have to be purchased. Armor …”
    “There should be wealth enough, Captain-General. Despite the costs of the Calziran Crusade, my father was frugal. He left a sizable treasury. My brother not only preserved that, he added to it. Despite the jackals surrounding him. Likewise, the current Empress. Who expects to come into substantial additional riches soon.” A remark she would not pursue.
    “I have a contract with the Patriarch,” Hecht said. “At his will. In effect, I’m his till he loses faith in me. Right