Aldric looked at Tui-Lan's arms, then at Ty, and decided he understood the room.
"You burned a kingdom officer and dragged him into the next stage."
Tui-Lan made a small sound in his throat. It was not agreement. It was the noise of a man who had just learned the accusation could still get worse.
Ty kept the blade resting against his shoulder. His hands hurt too much for dramatic answers, and Aldric looked too pleased with himself to deserve one.
"He was sent to kill me. He failed, and now he is standing."
Aldric glanced at Tui-Lan again. "That sounds like the kind of answer a hostage taker would prepare."
Tui-Lan's face tightened. He drew his ruined wrists closer to his chest and looked at the board instead of either man.
The chess pieces answered before Ty could. Every pawn on the white side turned its head at once. Stone ground against stone. Shields lifted by a finger's width, then stopped. Across the board, the black pieces did the same.
