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She had brought Raun-Tu and Heival with her.

“General.” Ava bowed her head. “This will have to be just for your ears, and then you can choose what you share with your lieutenants.”

Raun-Tu bristled. “Avasu, you do not tell the general—”

The general lifted a hand and he snapped his mouth shut. “This concerns some things we spoke of earlier?” Her gaze flitted from Luc, to Massi and Dak, then came to rest on her again.

She nodded.

General Ru turned to her lieutenants, face impassive, and both of them reluctantly left the tent.

She would be hearing from Raun-Tu about this tomorrow, Ava thought, with a sinking sensation in her stomach.

“So, Avasu. What is so secret?” The general looked even more energized than she had before.

Ava reached into her cloak and pulled out the two scrolls. “Messages from the Speaker of the Grimwalt court to the Queen of Kassia.”

“Is that so?” General Ru approached, looking at them critically. “They do look like they are sealed with the Grimwaldian crest.”

“Oh. I haven’t had a chance to really look at them.” Ava bent closer. “He did use the official seal.” For some reason, this sparked her anger and fear more than anything else she’d heard about the speaker of the Grimwalt court.

He was using official channels. Did that mean he had official backing, or was he simply abusing his position?

“And how did you know about these, and where to find them?” Massi stepped closer to have a look herself.

“The caravan is from Grimwalt. One of the traders in the caravan is a long acquaintance of my grandmother’s housekeeper. He told me what he knew.”

There were a few quick intakes of breath.

“He told you who the spies were?”

“He told her.” Luc picked up one of the scrolls. “We were able to sneak into the spy’s cart and find the messages, but we need to return them before they’re missed.”

“Better for them to not know they’ve been seen,” General Ru agreed with a nod. “Then they will stick to their plans.”

“Ava had the idea we could see what their plans are, and if possible, make some subtle changes to the text.” Luc turned the scroll in his hands, looking for a way to open it.

“Who is the spy?” Dak stood back, a little apart from the rest of them.

“The wine merchant.”

Dak jerked up his head to look at her. “I heard word from one of my captains that we weren’t to touch the wine.”

“One of the traders who tasted what he bought fell ill quickly, and if the wine merchant is a Kassian spy, he may be trying to delay us with poisoned drink.” Luc handed the other scroll to the general, and then carefully lifted the seal on the one in his hands.

General Ru did the same, using delicate movements to remove it without breaking it.

They both read for long minutes, and the rest of the tent began to shift impatiently.

Luc gave a grunt of surprise and the general set her scroll down on the table.

“What?” Massi couldn’t contain herself.

“Things are not well in Grimwalt.” The general sent Ava a sympathetic look. “It seems the Speaker is offering an alliance with Kassia, in exchange for personal wealth for himself.”

“Does he have the confidence of the court?” After everything that had happened, if Grimwalt allied itself to Kassia, it would be a massive betrayal. Ava couldn’t believe so many of her parents’ allies would forget what had happened to them at Kassia’s hand.

“He says he can get it, if the Kassian Queen makes it worthwhile for him.” The general glanced at Ava sidelong. “He says that he has a way.”