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get used to it.”
    â€œDon’t worry,” Sennar reassured him, refilling his glass. “I managed to get used to the blue light of your land. It’s only a matter of time.”
    The count rested his paternal gaze on Sennar. “I didn’t know the Council met here in the Land of the Sea,” said Varen.
    Sennar sighed. “In truth, the Council was set to convene in the Land of Water this year, but as you must have learned by now, most of the territory has fallen into the Tyrant’s hands, and they were forced to flee.”
    â€œI’ve been told about the army of the dead,” Varen said grimly. “Many of my men are worried.” He poured himself a second glass and eyed the sorcerer. “Why aren’t you with the Council right now?”
    â€œI’m no longer a councilor.”
    â€œThey kicked you out?”
    Sennar smiled. “No, I left of my own will.”
    Varen cast him an inquisitive gaze. Sennar averted his eyes, staring up at the light as it filtered in through the gaps in the wooden boards above the porthole. “I have a new mission to complete now,” he explained, and the amulet seemed to grow heavier inside his pocket. “In order to do so, I was forced to take a brief leave from my post in the Land of the Wind.”
    â€œBrief,” the count repeated, his voice curling up in inflection. “Which means you’ll be reinstated as a councilor when you return?”
    â€œYes,” Sennar lied. “What about you? How is it you ended up here?”
    The count smiled. “After you left, I returned to my duties in Sakana, and for a time, everything went smoothly. But then I felt a change inside of me, something I couldn’t quite pinpoint. … All of a sudden my life seemed petty and empty. I was bored. I looked toward the sky, up beyond the water’s surface, and thought that up there, among the clouds I’d never seen before, people were fighting. In the end, I realized this was the life I wanted, the challenge I needed to face. So I convinced His Highness to appoint me head of the army.”
    Sennar stared down at his glass and ran his finger along the rim. He couldn’t resist. “And what about Ondine?” he asked.
    â€œAfter you left, I did as you had requested and made sure she traveled among my company back to Sakana.”
    â€œAnd … how did she seem?”
    â€œShe was truly sad.”
    Sennar lowered his gaze.
    â€œI suggested she become an attendant at my palace. It would be better than looking after prisoners. At first, she declined the offer. She didn’t want to abandon her parents. But in the end I persuaded her.”
    Sennar went on tracing the rim of his glass with his finger. Then he tossed back the glass of Shark in one quick motion.
    â€œI never did understand why you left her back in Zalenia,” the count went on. “I know you had feelings for her, and that she felt the same for you.”
    The thought of Ondine warmed Sennar’s heart. He’d have liked to see her childlike face again, her soft hair, her pink lips. But he knew he’d only end up hurting her even worse.
    â€œShe requested that I ask you something, if I ever ran into you,” the count added. Sennar met his gaze. “She wanted me to ask if you’d kept the promise you made to her, and to tell you that if you hadn’t, she’d have her revenge some day.”
    The sorcerer smiled. “To be honest, no. I haven’t really lived up to my word, but this journey is part of that promise. When you see her again, though, please tell her that yes, I’ve kept it. That I’m happy now.”
    The count smiled back, only to turn serious again a moment later. “Sennar, your clothes are filthy and you look famished. Tell me the truth. What’s going on with you? What is this mission you’re on?”
    The sorcerer didn’t know how to reply. The count was a man who