A Noble Promise. Trial of the Ornic, #4

(This book originally appeared as The Lord's Tale: Part One, and as part one of The Thirteenth Talent.) On the run with Zhiv, Krysilla is both hopeful and nervous when Zhiv meets with Lord Marilisin, ruler of the city of Openwater, to make a deal: Zhiv's help for the freedom of those with him. All Zhiv has to do is get a book of Ornic spells. At night. From someone who likes keeping his actions hidden in the dark. Krysilla has seen Zhiv do the impossible before.
Something like this? Far too simple for one who has gone against a noble and lived to tell about it. But Zhiv has begun to act strangely. When he smiles, it doesn't quite reach his eyes. When he speaks, he focuses only on the future in front of the rest of their little group. And it hasn't escaped Krysilla's notice that he bargained for their freedom, but not his own. When the remnant of an execution spell Zhiv has dealt with for years takes an unexpected turn, his behavior makes Krysilla take chances she would have never dared as an ordinary baker's wife.
In spite of nobles. In spite of Dogs. Before Zhiv makes this performance his last.