Wigg recognized the names immediately. To everyone’s surprise, each one identified a onetime consul of the Redoubt. The list also revealed a series of safe houses in which Satine could hide as she went about her grisly work. The network of endowed spies lying in wait throughout Eutracia had finally been brought to light. But the bottom of the list was ragged, indicating that Satine had ripped away one or more of the names. This concerned them all, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Tristan had been right. Even though tonight’s cottage had been the final safe house on the list, that didn’t mean that the last of the traitorous consuls had been dealt with. The few who had been taken alive awaited questioning in the Redoubt.

She thought back to the night when Tristan defeated Wulfgar, and healed the Orb of the Vigors. Despite the carnage and destruction, things had ended on a glorious turn of events. His blood having been turned from azure back to red, Tristan used the last of the spells in his blood signature to miraculously heal the warriors who had been wounded in battle, and also heal those unfortunate citizens stricken by the orb.

As a result the jubilant populace-long wary of the prince and the Minion warriors at his command-again regarded Tristan as their rightful leader. They had even come to accept the flying warriors as their protectors.

The people of Eutracia again appreciated magic for the good things that it could do, rather than fearing it for the evil. Watching the citizens and the Minion warriors working side by side to rebuild the palace and the city had been a heartwarming thing. A grand masquerade ball had been scheduled to celebrate the royal residence’s completion. It would be the first real palace social event since the ill-fated night of Tristan’s aborted coronation ceremony.

An added result of this new peaceful period had been a rebirth of culture and prosperity in Eutracia. Shops again buzzed with activity. Crime in Tammerland had been drastically reduced because of the Minion patrols that Tristan ordered to wander about the city. Long overdue taxes and vital goods again flowed into the capital. Vital trade had resumed not only between Eutracia’s far-flung provinces, but up and down her coastline as well.