“Are there any others?” Parnet asked.
Calar’s Cerean advisor stepped forward. “As the emissary of the Duke of the Southern Reaches –”
Parnet slapped his hand down on the table. “No,” he said. “We thank your countrymen for the gifts they have brought and for their allegiance –” Girizit leaned forward to whisper in the governor’s ear, but Parnet brushed him away like one of the errant flies buzzing around the remnants of a feast. “We thank you and your countrymen for your interest in our affairs, but this must be decided by our own laws.”
Girizit smiled at Darna and shrugged. She looked away. She did not want his allegiance, useful as it might be. She hoped that she wouldn’t need it.
“Any others? Men – or women – of Theranis?”
Someone stepped out from behind Calar. It took Darna a long
