Paul desperately wanted to stay alert on the road to Nezpot, but Mayor Ednis’ carriage had scarcely cleared the outskirts of Dangritown when exhaustion crested over him, and he dropped into a heavy sleep. When the carriage rattled to a halt, and he came out of his stupor, the moon was high in the night sky. He opened his eyes to see Ednis glaring at him.
“Get out, boy,” he growled.
Paul stumbled out of the carriage, his legs aching and creaking as he unfolded himself and tried to find his footing. He looked around.
He was in the courtyard of the largest building he had ever seen. Up to that moment the mayor’s mansion was the most elegant thing he’d seen. Now he was in the courtyard of a palace that dwarfed the mayor’s home. It sprawled on and on, each wing nearly thirty yards long, and
