Talking with Tan and other crewmembers on the ship had refreshed much of Victory’s memories of the Qin language. But the priest performed a blessing in a dialect so old she doubted anybody else in the room understood him either.
Instead, Victory studied the two weredragons behind him. The most elaborate robes, saffron with metallic rainbow thread, must belong to Governor Yu. He was an unassuming man of both middling height and attractiveness, but his aura of intelligence was unmistakable. He made no secret of the fact that he studied Victory’s group one by one, though he maintained a closed expression.
The other man caught her attention and held it—an elderly gentleman, with black robes hanging loose on thin but unbowed shoulders. He stared out over the massed crowd, but saw nothing from
