Chade nodded unwillingly as I spoke. When I paused, he injected softly, “There are many holes in this web you say Regal is weaving.”
“I can fill in a few,” I whispered. “Suppose the coterie that Galen created is loyal to Regal? Suppose all messages go to him first, and only those he approves continue to their intended destination?”
Chade’s face grew still and grave.
My whisper grew more desperate. “What if messages are delayed just enough to make our efforts to defend ourselves pathetic? He makes Verity look a fool, he undermines confidence in the man.”
“Wouldn’t Verity be able to tell?”
I shook my head slowly. “He is powerfully Skilled. But he cannot be listening everywhere at once. The strength of his talent is his ability to focus it so tightly. To spy on his own coterie, he would have had to give off watching the coast waters for Red-Ships.”
“Does he … is Verity aware of this discussion right now?”
I shrugged ashamedly. “I don’t know. That is the curse of my flaws. My link with him is erratic. Sometimes I know his mind as clearly as if he stood beside me and spoke it aloud. At other times I am scarcely aware of him at all. Last night, when they spoke through me, I heard every word. Right now …” I felt about inside myself, a pocket-patting sort of thinking. “I feel nothing more than that we are still linked.” I leaned forward and put my head in my hands. I felt drained.
“Tea?” Chade asked me gently.
“Please. And if I could just sit for a bit longer, quietly. I don’t know when my head has throbbed this badly.”