Hardin came to the fortress gates himself the following dawn, alone, unarmed, his once-immaculate riding leathers still stained with the dirt and blood of a battle he'd fought, in the end, on the fortress's side rather than against it. He looked, Jasmine would later think when she heard the account secondhand, like a man who had spent the entire night at war with himself as much as with any enemy on the field.

Liora met him at the gate personally, arms folded, her expression giving away nothing. "You have some nerve," she said, "showing your face here after leading an army to my doorstep."

"I led a parley to your...