"You were told the stores were sealed."
Calder spat blood from a split lip and said nothing.
Thorne crouched in front of him. "You carry southern root and burned silverleaf into my sister's keep in the middle of the night. You try the side latch of a guarded store. You are going to explain that, or I am going to let the elders have the Trial they keep asking for and see how long you last."
Calder's eyes flicked toward the growing crowd, then back. For the first time something like calculation showed under the pain.
"I was paid to move a package," he said. "That is all. I do not ask names when the coin is good."
"Who paid you?"
"A woman. She has a southern accent. But she never showed her face twice in the same light. She gave me the jar and the latch key and told me the hour. I was to leave the jar inside and walk away."
Elara had already knelt by the spilled powder. She rubbed a small amount between her fingers and held it to her nose.
