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throat. “I, uh…sure. Yes, I suppose.”
    â€œShe still hasn't selected a new bodyguard to replace Lord Gilgar?”
    â€œNot yet. She's been genuinely upset since…well, you know.”
    â€œI bet she has.”
    The vicious tone in her voice irritated him for no good reason. He had expected she would be happier to see him, but everything felt disjointed, as if they'd reverted back to being strangers again.
    Horace tensed as the queen was rinsed, the water sluicing down her body. Her eyes locked onto him from across the chamber, and he felt her terrible magnetism working on him. Keep your mind on Alyra, fool!
    â€œI've missed you,” he repeated.
    â€œYou look like you haven't been getting enough sleep.”
    The way she tilted her head gave him hope that she was inviting him to speak more intimately, so he plunged ahead. “I worry about you when you're gone.”
    â€œI've told you before, Horace. You don't need to worry.”
    And just like that, the invitation vanished. Horace didn't know what to say next.
    Blanket-sized towels were brought to dry the queen. Then she departedthe chamber without coming to the large pool, taking her retinue with her. Horace couldn't stop the sigh of relief from escaping his lips. Being in the presence of both Alyra and the queen was beyond uncomfortable. In fact, he'd prefer to continue this conversation somewhere more private. He turned to Alyra, but the slave girl interrupted before he could ask her.
    â€œPardon me, Belum ,” she said with a bowed head. “Her Majesty invites you to sup with her this evening. At the eighth bell, if it pleases you.”
    â€œAh, of course,” he replied.
    The slave backed away, and Horace swallowed, wondering how Alyra would react. Yet nothing in her demeanor changed. If anything, she appeared amused by the situation. He decided to take a chance. “Can I see you tonight?”
    â€œI'll be in my chambers, if you can get away from the queen.”
    Before Horace could think of a witty reply, she left the pool. He watched her climb out, enjoying every curve and line of her body. He settled back into the water as she entered a dressing stall. His heart thumped loud in his chest, and his thoughts were scattered. There were problems that required his immediate attention, but they seemed insignificant all of a sudden. Alyra was back, but now he had to go prepare to meet the queen.
    He shivered as he left the warm water. A few of the nobles turned to watch him go, but he ignored them. A slave girl, a different one this time, approached to help him dress, but he waved her away.

The landscape of his mind extended like a vast sheet of leaden glass, devoid of features or landmarks. Pale light filtered down from the hazy sky where the sun, a distant orb of deeper gray, pulsed with fierce energy. It was his qa , the gateway to his power.
    Horace focused on the endless plain. This was his hidden inner world, which he had constructed with Lord Ubar's help. Here he had solace from the pressures of the outside world, though they never left him completely alone. His zoana , for one, was something he couldn't escape, not even here. He felt it throbbing behind his qa , calling to him like a siren's lure. Early in his training he had often accessed it from this relaxed state of mind, but lately that had become problematic.
    He realized he was focused on the gateway to his power again and tried pulling his attention away, but the orb pulsed faster. A moment too late, he noticed it had opened. Just a crack, but that was enough. A rush of Shinar uncoiled across the ethereal sky of his hidden world in streaks of violet so deep they were almost black. Horace did nothing for a little while except observe the display. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He reached out to the bands of energy. He didn't force it back through his qa , instead aiming to coax it. This was something he'd been working on. He'd been