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Thea persisted. ‘Will you ever tell me about it?’

Audra gave her a blank look.

‘What happened the night they took your swords?’

Audra stiffened in her saddle. ‘You know what happened that night. You’ve been taught about it. You’ve no doubt read all the books about it.’

‘But you saw everything. You were actually there.’

‘I wish I hadn’t been,’ her warden replied bitterly. But she relented, slowing her horse. ‘The prophecy had been foretold only a few months before and the Guild Master had always been uneasy about it,’ Audra began. ‘But I was persuasive, told him that words couldn’t fell the great fortress of Thezmarr, and certainly not the midrealms when they had our protection. He was twitchy… Still, I convinced him otherwise. Until that night. There was a girl, Anya. She was perhaps six or so? A prim and proper little thing, copper hair, very sweet. None of us know how she got her hands on a scythe of Naarvian steel, but she did… I sensed something was wrong moments before it happened, ordered Farissa to hide you and the other children away. I came into the courtyard just in time to see it. Shadows rippling off the curved blade, wraiths descending upon the fortress. Seven Thezmarrians were killed.’

Thea’s throat constricted, recalling the smell that had lingered for days. Blood and heather.

‘I told Osiris that there was an explanation, that it had been an accident. I tried to tell him that to strip women of their right to bear arms would only weaken the guild and stir dissent. But he saw nothing beyond the bodies at his doorstep and the wordsof the prophecy. The rest of the midrealms felt the same. After that, barely any children were sent to us. That’s why there are no more families among us, why there are so few women, why there have been so few recruits to the warrior ranks over the years. Thezmarr is bleeding, has been, since that day.’

‘What happened to the women warriors?’

‘They left.’

‘To go where?’

Audra sniffed. ‘Far away from this place. No one knows exactly. Nowhere in these realms.’

‘You didn’t want to go with them?’ Thea asked.

‘“Want” doesn’t come into it. Someone had to stay the course.’

Thea straightened. ‘Am I part of that course?’

The librarian gave a soft laugh. ‘I have been watching you for a long time, Althea Zoltaire. Your secret training, your Dancing Alchemists —’ She paused to give Thea a pointed look. ‘I’ve known since the very beginning. I always thought you might need some help with the guild.’

Thea choked. ‘Why play this card now?’

Another laugh. ‘Well, I was waiting until you were ready.’

‘You think I’m ready?’ Her fingers crept to her fate stone.

‘No,’ Audra said bluntly. ‘But we’re out of time. Everything I said in the council room was true. Whispers tell me that the Veil is weakening, that the threat to the midrealms is closer than we imagine.’

‘You don’t believe the prophecy?’

Audra scoffed. ‘I believe that like all prophecies, it’s up for interpretation and that the fears of men can distort those interpretations… After all, how long had you carried that blade? We’re still standing, aren’t we?’

Thea cleared her throat. ‘Do you think I have a chance?’

‘No idea. But the next initiation test for shieldbearers is in three months and you need more practice, more challenges than batting a stick against a tree. Of the most recent intake, it’s a real mix. Some are castle staff no longer content with their lot, there are a few orphans from around the midrealms, and then of course those from Tver, Aveum and Harenth seeking glory as a Thezmarrian Guardian. You’re already leagues behind the rest in terms of training, endurance, and everything else.’

Thea’s stomach plummeted.

‘But let’s not get ahead of ourselves until this meeting with the rulers.’

More questions on her lips, Thea twisted in her saddle to see Audra’s eyes still upon her, where Thea’s fingers encased the jade pendant. She hurriedly tucked it back down the front of her tunic, but it was too late.

‘You think I don’t know what that is?’ Audra said. ‘You forget who found you and your sister beneath the portcullis that night.’

‘It’s nothing.’

‘Don’t insult me. I know exactly what it is. I’ve known your obsession with it since the moment you arrived at Thezmarr.’