“Yes,” Tennea said. They sat quietly for a moment. “How are your nerves, Dahlia?” she asked.
Dahlia sat with her hands in her lap. She looked Tennea in the eye for a moment, then looked down and away.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m betraying a man tonight. I invited him to dinner. He…he thinks he’s calling on me, but when he arrives, your soldiers will capture him. You did bring soldiers, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Tennea confirmed. “They’re resting, down by the creek. They’ll stay in hiding until nightfall. After Hunter arrives, they’ll surround the house to prevent his escape. But Dahlia, you can’t think of it as a betrayal.”
“What else is it?”
“Quam’s justice. Hunter is a murderer. A traitor. An oathbreaker. A rebel. Name your crime, he’s done it.”
Dahlia shook her head.
“It hardly se
