"His price isn't mine to set." The Prince shrugs a shoulder. "Until his point is made, perhaps. It's not a question of numbers, after all. It's a question of cost. So much strength is being mustered on this quest. Perhaps a single death would tip the scales. The only question is who. Who dies, and who lives? Even the spirit does not decide that. Chance finds its own champions."

She leans a little closer, for a moment seeming to hunch like the bird on her wrist. "This time, o Knight, the chance - and the choice - will be yours. When the time comes."