The Hall of Treyls was all light and reverence, the walls feigning life as Merenrys passed. She stood at the dais, a living goddess in gold and blue, her robes embroidered with burmese gold-thread embroidery and rare mulberry silk, that glowed in rhythm with her heartbeat.

Moments later, Bemrylcad entered, still damp from his swim, his robe of white linen loose over his shoulders. Scrolls and ledgers filled his hands. The symbols of his post as Regyptre’s Chief Diplomat and Treasurer.

He ...