“Not sure, exactly,” Mearzt whispered. “Only, Nev heard a rumor that Father Gheraeld’s cabinet has been in secret talks with them.”

Relief and disappointment rushed through Ayn in a rush of breath. Mearzt’s older brother, Nev, was always talking about some conspiracy or another to do with Father Gheraeld’s cabinet. Still, Ayn didn’t much like the man either, and not just because he’d practically taken away her dad by keeping him busy all the time. She’d only met him once, at the new cabinet’s covenant ceremony, and had gotten a distinctly bad feeling about him.