Connly tried to feed Trace as much as he knew, but he seemed to be withholding some details until they were able to speak in person. He had sent the news about Lord Fiori, which was a huge blow, not only to Selium, but to the entire realm. He had always been such a grand presence, had been wise and generous, and he’d be missed. Laren had sent up a prayer for Estral to be able to cope with all that she must now endure with his passing.

When she arrived at the records room, her Riders were waiting for her, the stained glass dome alight from above, with its richly colored panels celebrating the heroics of the First Rider and the end of the Long War. There were only about thirty Riders in residence at the moment. Most were still out looking for Zachary. She could not wait for them all to return.

When her Riders noticed her and saw her regalia, they all stiffened to attention.

Well, she thought. That didn’t happen often. The Green Riders rarely stood on formality.

“Be at ease,” she told them.

They all gazed expectantly at her. It was good to have Riders there whom she hadn’t seen in a while: Dale, Fergal, Trace, and others. She’d made sure Anna had come, too, and there was Mara, poor, frazzled Mara, who was now trying to do Connly’s job, as well as her own.

“As you have no doubt heard,” Laren said, clasping her hands behind her back, “the king has been found after unknown adventures, has waged battle against Second Empire and won, and is now on his way home.”

Shouts of “hurrah” echoed around the chamber. Laren had shouted her own happiness in the privacy of her new quarters.

She spoke a little about Lord Fiori and others who had lost their lives—her friend, Captain Treman, a Weapon trainee named Rye, among numerous others. Her Riders regarded her with solemnity during this part. Most would not have met Lord Fiori, but many had known Estral.

“Finally, there are organizational matters to be addressed,” she said. “It may have come to your attention that I’ve been promoted.” Laughter followed this statement. “That means I’ve had to reconsider the structure of our command staff.” She felt Mara stiffen beside her. Most of those whom her announcement was going to directly affect were absent, but all the Riders needed to know and grow accustomed to the changes.

“Beryl Spencer, who has served at the level of major in the Mirwellian militia, will assume that position for the Green Riders.” Unfortunately, Beryl was too often away on spy business to be an effective second. Laren had been informed recently that Beryl was currently somewhere on the east coast. Unlike the queen, Laren could not skip ranks and promote Connly to major. “Your new captain is Connly.” No one expressed any surprise at these changes. “This means that Mara Brennyn moves to lieutenant.” Again, no surprise, but poor Mara sighed mournfully. All she had ever wanted to be was Chief Rider, though she’d already been performing at a higher rank. The Riders cheered for Mara, even if Mara did not cheer for herself.

“Congratulations, Lieutenant,” Laren said.

“Thank you,” Mara mumbled.

“This brings us to the position of Chief Rider.” It had taken a good deal of consideration, and she’d discussed the issue extensively with Mara, but there had really been only one choice. “Karigan G’ladheon will assume the role of Chief Rider.” The job of chief was the direct supervision of the noncommissioned Riders, seeing to their everyday needs, scheduling, assigning message errands, and taking care of Rider accounts, all of which Karigan had done before. Zachary would be pleased because it would limit how often Karigan would be sent out on errands, thus into danger. The Chief Rider needed to be on castle grounds to accomplish her duties. It could be a grievous mistake, Laren reflected, to have Zachary and Karigan in such close proximity all the time, but she’d genuinely believed Karigan was the best person for the job.

The Riders seemed to think this was the extent of her announcements and chatted among themselves. She cleared her throat, but they did not hear her.

“Listen up!” Mara shouted. That silenced them.

“There may be more adjustments in time,” Laren said, “but there is one more thing that needs doing now before I dismiss you. Anna, would you please step forward?”

Anna had been warned ahead of time this was coming, but she still looked a little shocked.

“You’ve all met Anna. She’s kept your hearths, and has been joining some of you for your studies and lessons. She has been a member of the queen’s personal household staff, and she in fact helped save the queen when the aureas slee threatened to spirit her away. Anna was also helpful to me after I broke the paddock fence.” More laughter here. “She has expressed interest in becoming a Green Rider, but she has not heard the call. At least, not the call that the rest of us are familiar with. She’s answered a different sort of call, one that does not require magic. Being a Rider has always been a matter of spirit, anyway, not just of magic. Therefore, after much consultation with the queen, I present to you the newest member of our Green Rider family, Anna Ash.”

The reaction was startled, with some scattered applause. Laren had warned Anna it would take all of them a while to get used to the idea. As for Anna’s last name, it was what she had used to sign her papers. She’d said it suited her more than the one that came from her family, who’d given her away to the castle to do drudge work.

Laren’s Riders, she knew, liked Anna and would get used to the idea of a non-magical Rider among them. At least, she hoped so. She considered it something of an experiment. If Anna worked out well, Laren would be able, perhaps, to fill out their ranks with those lacking magical abilities so she could realize her dream of establishing messenger relay stations throughout the realm. First, she thought, they’d all have to survive whatever Second Empire threw at them, and the reawakening of Mornhavon the Black.