"But we've heard that Arontala is hunting down mages! Doesn't that make this war the Sisterhood's business?"
Tris shrugged. "Not every mage is one of the Sisterhood. They're a rather elite group. And the
impression I got from Royster was that some of them think that the Sisterhood shouldn't be involved in the outside world at all. They want to study magic and let the rest of us be damned." He paused. "Although Royster didn't say as much, I wondered whether the mages who run the Sisterhood now are as powerful as the Sisters who fought the Mage War. Perhaps they're turning inward because they're not what they once were," Tris speculated. "Maybe they don't think they can go up against Arontala-let alone the Obsidian King reborn-and win, so they don't even want to try."
"But they'll send you? That's not making me feel any better about this training." Carina shivered.
Tris chuckled mirthlessly. "You're not the one being trained."
Carina's concerns only made him more nervous. Though Bava K'aa said little about the Sisterhood, what little she did say was usually about Sisters taking sides or pursuing competing agendas. Now, as the carriage headed for the citadel, Tris wondered whether, in the Sisterhood's game, he was the king or the pawn.
"You said Sister Taru sent the message?" Carina's question stirred Tris out of his brooding.
He nodded. "That's the one bright spot. After training with her at Westmarch, she's someone I trust."
"She knew your grandmother?"
"Taru was grandmother's assistant."
"I trust Taru," Carina agreed. "The others, I'm not so sure about."
THE CARRIAGE TURNED and Tris saw the citadel, a large gray walled area, almost a city within the city. The cut stone that made up its outer walls looked older than the buildings around it, which seemed to keep their distance, giving the citadel a wide span of open area despite the crowding of the rest of the city. Only a few high narrow windows broke the citadel's facade, which rose several stories above the ground. A portcullis opened to admit the carriage, and Tris felt his stomach knot at the thud of the iron gate falling shut behind them.
A robed figure waited for them in the snow as Tris helped Carina down from the carriage. "Welcome," Taru said, pulling back her hood. Taru's chin-length dark hair framed a round face, and her cloak covered an ample frame. Her broad smile was a sincere welcome. Tris felt himself relax, just a little.
