Amara arched an eyebrow, amused. “You won’t survive long at court in this kingdom if go around insulting the nobility,” she said, smiling. “And I happen to be completely serious. Only a fool trusts a stranger, and only a greater fool trusts those closest to them. I hope that you are not dense enough to believe I would trust you,” she said casually. “Your allegiance is to my father, not to me.”

As they neared the palace, Amara headed toward a service entrance far from the one they had originally left from. The palace had a rather large amount of entrances and exits, some well know and some well hidden. Amara knew all of them, and she rarely went through the same one twice in a row.

“So,” she said. “Captain Sir Kyran ith Neshkar, was it? Tell me about yourself.” The topic may have resembled one of casual conversation or simple small talk, but the tone of her voice quite clearly indicated that it was an order, not a request.