A leafless witchwood tree stands sentinel in the compound outside. Looking at it, Alinata contemplates something the queen said to her recently, about how a person’s life can sometimes be defined by a single choice they make at a critical moment where the outcome cannot be divined. Alinata thought that her moment had come and gone. Now she realizes she was wrong. Her moment is now. Right this instant. “The moon preserve you, AmaSiningwe. Be careful what you eat and drink in the coming days. As for me, I have an appointment with fate.”
