Yes… it was unmistakable. Rand was singing, under his breath, very softly. Mat tapped his foot. “I swear I’ve heard that tune somewhere, once… Is it ‘Two Maids at the Water’s Edge’ ”
“You’re not helping,” Rand whispered. “Quiet.”
Rand continued his song. The green spread to the trees, the firs strengthening their limbs. The other trees began to shoot out leaves—they were indeed peach trees—growing at great speed, life flooding into them.
The guards looked about themselves, spinning, trying to watch all of the trees at once. Selucia had cringed. Tuon remained upright, her eyes focused on Rand. Nearby, the frightened sul’dam and damane must have stopped concentrating, for the bonds holding Mat vanished.
“Do you deny my right?” Rand demanded. “Do you deny that my claim to this land precedes your own by thousands of years?”
“I…” Tuon took a deep breath and stared at him defiantly. “You broke the land, abandoned it. I can deny your right.”
Behind her, blossoms exploded onto the trees like fireworks, white and deep pink. The bursts of color surrounded them. Petals sprayed outward with their growth, breaking from the trees, catching in the wind and swirling through the clearing.
“I allowed you to live,” Rand said to Tuon, “when I could have destroyed you in an instant. This is because you have made life better for those under your rule, though you are not without guilt for the way you have treated some. Your rule is as flimsy as paper. You hold this land together only through the strength of steel and damane, but your homeland burns.
“I have not come here to destroy you. I come to you now to offer you peace, Empress. I have come without armies, I have come without force. I have come because I believe that you need me, as I need you.” Rand stepped forward and, remarkably, went down on one knee, bowing his head, his hand extended. “I extend my hand to you in alliance. The Last Battle is upon us. Join me, and fight.”
The clearing fell still. The wind stopped blowing, the thunder stopped rumbling. Peach blossoms wafted to the now-green grass. Rand remained where he was, hand extended. Tuon stared at that hand as if at a viper.
Mat hurried forward. “Nice trick,” he said under his breath to Rand. “Very nice trick.” He approached Tuon, taking her by the shoulders and turning her to the side. Nearby, Selucia looked stunned. Karede was not in much better shape. They would not be any help.
“Hey, look,” Mat said to her softly. “He’s a good fellow. He’s rough at the corners sometimes, but you can trust his word. If he’s offering you a treaty, he’ll make good on it.”
“That was a very impressive display,” Tuon said softly. She was trembling faintly. “What is he?”
“Burn me if I know,” Mat said. “Listen, Tuon. I grew up with Rand. I vouch for him.”
“There is a darkness in that man, Matrim. I saw it when last he and I met.”
“Look at me, Tuon. Look at me.”
She looked up, meeting his gaze.
“You can trust Rand al’Thor with the world itself,” Mat said. “And if you can’t trust him, trust me. He’s our only choice. We don’t have time to take him back to Seanchan.
“I’ve been in the city long enough to have a little peek at your forces. If you’re going to fight the Last Battle and recapture your homeland, you’re going to need a stable base here in Altara. Take his offer. He just claimed this land. Well, make him secure your borders as they are and announce it to the others. They might listen. Take a little pressure off you. Unless, that is, you want to fight the Trollocs, the nations of this land, and the rebels in Seanchan at the same time.”
Tuon blinked. “Our forces.”
“What?”
“You called them my forces,” she said. “They are our forces. You are one of us now, Matrim.”
“Well, I guess I am at that. Listen, Tuon. You have to do this. Please.” She turned, looking at Rand, kneeling in the middle of a pattern of peach blossoms that seemed to have circled out from him. Not a one had fallen on him.
“What is your offer?” Tuon asked.
“Peace,” Rand said, standing, hand still out. “Peace for a hundred years. Longer, if I can make it so. I have persuaded the other rulers to sign a treaty and work together to fight the armies of the Shadow.”
“I would have my borders secured,” Tuon said.
“Altara and Amadicia shall be yours.”
“Tarabon and Almoth Plain as well,” Tuon said. “I hold them now. I will not be forced from them by your treaty. You wish peace? You will give me this.”
“Tarabon and half of Almoth Plain,” Rand said. “The half you already control.”
“I would have all of the women this side of the Aryth Ocean who can channel as damane,” Tuon said.