Theodore did not sit when the doors to his private chamber closed after he had just had a meeting with someone from another region.
He stood near the long table, hands resting behind his back, gaze fixed on the spread of maps laid before him as usual.
The eastern ridge was marked carefully, the clearing circled in ink, observation points noted in small deliberate strokes. Every path Emily had taken over the past day had been recorded, measured and carefully studied.
Yet he was not satisfied.
“Send for Varric,” he said without turning.
The guard bowed quickly and disappeared.
The chamber fell silent again. Theodore’s jaw tightened slightly as he replayed the reports in his mind.
She was careful.
The doors opened again.
Varric entered with the confidence of a man who had never fa
