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time to adjust to the full truth.
    “Well, either they are an Am’n, or they aren’t. Which one is it?”
    “Am’n Adanjé.” She glanced sideways to gauge his reaction. His green eyes had narrowed in skepticism.
    “Am’n Adanjé ? The Ruling Family of the Empire?” Elrik could hardly believe her. It had to be a joke. Even a cousin of the Royal Blood wouldn’t be allowed to travel across the Empire without an escort, yet here was Arasa, traveling with just three overgrown…palomino…Imperial Mares, he realized suddenly, wincing internally for having been so oblivious to the truth.
    Arasa saw that wince, and cleared her throat. “Well…yes. I didn’t mention it earlier because it isn’t always wise to announce such a fact when one visits the Frost Wall. Or in the northeast corner of the Cloth Wall, up by the Ebrinnish Border. Even if you turned out be trustworthy enough—and you have,” she quickly reassured him, “—there are always others who might have overheard, and tried to take advantage of that fact.”
    Facts gathered and collided in Elrik’s head. She was a member of the Royal Family; she was one of a set of twins; and she was trying to determine who was firstborn, on a quest so serious she’d been willing to travel into Kumron of all places. The capital was a long way from the mountains comprising the southern border of the Empire, but even he had heard rumors of the royal heirs being twins. He just hadn’t paid any attention to their names.
    He was riding alongside, talking with—and lusting after—a royal princess. His wince came back, turning into a grimace as he looked away. No wonder she didn’t want to be “alone” with me. I’m nothing more than a quarter-breed, with most of me a barbarian Kumronite. Educated and traveled, but still a common foreigner.
    “I didn’t tell you at first, because it was safer that way. But once you refrain from mentioning something, it’s just easier to keep from mentioning it, so long as it remains unimportant to the needs of the moment,” Arasa explained. “But I’m going to be recognized when we get to Ijesh. And if I didn’t tell you before then, when it would be revealed by others, you’d think…well, who knows what. I didn’t know you at the start of our journey,” Arasa admitted, “but now that I do…I wanted you to know.”
    Elrik nodded. She was letting him down easy, saving him from the embarrassment of trying anything further with her. Ordinary men like him didn’t get to have relationships with princesses, however nice and normal that princess might seem. “I understand.”
    “I’m glad. I know I’ve pushed to get back to Ijesh, barely even stopping for a bath, but the sooner this question of the succession is settled, the happier I’ll be,” she sighed. “That, and Ijesh is a lot safer for me. Everyone knows who I am, so I don’t have to be on the lookout for trouble. And, to be truthful, if I had let myself be distracted by you, I would’ve been too distracted.
    “Normally, some of the Imperial Bodyguard would have accompanied me, but Father didn’t want it widely known that the question of who exactly is firstborn is so important. Going all over the place with an entourage wouldn’t exactly be quiet…and this is something that has to be proven on my own. Or my sister’s own. One of us has what it takes to rule the Empire, but it’s supposed to be found within us, put there by the Gods,” she explained. “The First Emperor didn’t conquer by the might of an army; he ruled by a special covenant between him and the Mother Goddess.”
    A thought crossed Elrik’s unsettled mind. “If you’re of the Royal Blood, then you could command any of the mages at the Academy in Ijesh to do your bidding. Why did you accept my offer to accompany you?”
    “Three reasons. One, I don’t like traveling alone, and you were proving to be a good conversationalist, even that early in the evening. Two, you gave me a tap from