Dead silence filled the room as Per stood up and slowly smoothed his rumpled tunic. He said quietly, “What do you want with us mortals, maid of Skyre? You have merely to say and I will grant it.” Per looked up at her, wondering fearfully if she would let any of them live to see the morning.
She laughed at him. “Well now, Per Drake’s Son. It seems you have a polite tongue in your head after all, but I regret you will not be able to get to know me as well as you desired to.” Then, all business, she barked, “I want you to give me control of five hundred men and enough ships to carry them to Celeste, in Secuny. We will build a permanent encampment there and use it as a base to raid the inland cities of Mardon and Beaumarais.”
Per, forgetting his fear, said scathingly, “You must be mad. Even
