“What is your full name?”
His name? Rominy frowns, but he answers. “Rominy Everen Gerault Berinell Montarac, Prince of Nunia.”
“And how old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“Are you bound? Married?”
“I am.”
Tharios studies him carefully as he speaks.
“And what is your binding partner’s name? Your wife?”
“Elowyn Montarac? Elowyn Westaria Montarac? I’m not sure I know the answer to that.”
Tharios smiles. “That’s fine. Now I want you to lie to me.”
“Lie?”
“Yes. Do you have a sister?”
This feels wrong, but Rominy pushes the lie out. “No.”
“Where do you live?”
“Wolbourne.”
“Where does the heartlanding take you?”
Rominy hesitates for a moment as he thinks of a lie, but when he tries to say the untruth, it gets stuck in his throat. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“It’s fine. I had my doubts that would work. We’ll have to try something else.”
“Can I just try talking? Sometimes, it lets me say certain things if I’m careful how I word it.”
“Please, proceed. This is all fascinating to me.”
Tharios is as curious as Elowyn is, isn’t he? He just has more patience about finding the answers he’s looking for than she does. He must read all the books and tell her what he learns.
“Elowyn...” Rominy struggles to push out the words. “Nope. Let me try again. Time is different in the heartlanding. It lets me say that.”
“That’s a well-known facet of the heartlanding,” Tharios says. “It’s something I already knew. I wonder if that makes a difference.”
“So if I tell you things you already know...”
Tharios’s excitement grows. “Yes. Let’s give that a try.”
“All right. Let me see. You’ll have to piece everything together.”
Tharios leans forward and nods eagerly.
“Elowyn loves water.”
It worked.
“So your heartlanding takes you to water?”
