He remembered the welcoming banquet from the previous evening. The careful smiles, the deliberately vague answers, and the way both Lilith and Atheline had avoided every question regarding where they intended to travel.
At the time... he had already understood they were hiding something because whatever they sought required secrecy. He couldn't even blame them. If their positions had been reversed... He would have done exactly the same.
"They never lied." Seragus mused. "They simply never answered."
The ministers slowly began understanding. The Head of Intelligence spoke first.
"So... the western city was a decoy?"
Seragus pointed toward him.
"Exactly. They knew perfectly well we'd keep an eye on them, as we should. They're foreign rulers traveling through our territory; it would be irresponsible not to."
He folded his arms.
"So... they gave our intelligence network something to watch."
The realization spread across the room.
"They wanted to disappear after arriving there."
