Page 16 (1/2)

Adrah smiled without even the echo of pleasure

"Of course," he said "I&039;ve arrange is almost upon us, you know There&039;s so ret that the Khai did not live long enough to see this day come"

Adrah shook his head, then took a pose of farewell and retreated, closing the door behind him When they were alone, Idaan&039;s face shifted, naked venoan, but Idaan cut him off

"Not here Gods only knoCoh the door Adrah had used, then down a long corridor, and up a flight of winding stairs Cehmai felt the warmth of her hand on his arm, and it felt like relief She was here, she ell, she ith hi to pieces, and her presence would h hall and out to an open garden that looked down over the city There were six or seven floors between theainst the rail and looked down, then back at hiotten to you, has he?" she asked, her voice gray as ashes

"No one&039;s gotten to me If Adrah had wanted me to bray like a mule and paint my face like a whore&039;s before he&039;d take ht than this"

And, al, and not deep, hardly more than a faint smile and a fast exhalation, but it was there Cehmai stepped in and pulled her body to his He felt her start to push him back, hesitate, and then her cheek was pressed to his, her hair filling his breath with its scent He couldn&039;t say if the tears between them were hers or his or both

"Why?" he whispered "Why did you go? Why didn&039;t you come to me?"

"I couldn&039;t," she said "There wasthere&039;s too much"

"I love you, Idaan I didn&039;t say it before because it wasn&039;t true, but it is now I love you Please letone ar her eyes with the sleeve of the other

"Don&039;t," she said "Don&039;t say that Youyou don&039;t love me, Cehmai You don&039;t love ?" he asked, notand stupid," she said, her voice catching "Because we think we can forget what happens to things that I care for"

"And what&039;s that?"

"I kill the "I cut the I won&039;t do that to you You can&039;t be part of this, because I won&039;t do that to you"

Cehmai didn&039;t step toward her Instead, he pulled back, walked to the edge of the garden and looked out over the city The scent of flowers and forge-sht, Idaan-kya You won&039;t do that Not to me You couldn&039;t if you tried"

"Please," she said, and her voice was near hiet what happened It was "

"Wrong?"

For a breath, he waited

"No," she said "Not wrong But it was dangerous I&039; married in a few days time Because I choose to be And it won&039;t be you on the other end of the cord"

"Do you want me to support Adrah for the Khai&039;s chair?"

"No I want you to have nothing to do with any of this Go home Find someone else Find someone better"

"I can love you from whatever distance you wish-"

"Oh shut up," Idaan snapped "Just stop Stop being the noble little boy who&039;s going to suffer in silence Stop pretending that your love ofmy robes I don&039;t need you And if I want youwell, there are a hundred other things I want and I can&039;t have theo"

He turned, surprised, but her face was stony, the tears and tenderness gone as if they&039;d never been

"What are you trying to protectother things," she said "I want you away from me, Cehmai I want you elsewhere If you love me as much as you claim, you&039;ll respect that"

"But-"

"You&039;ll respect it"

Cehmai had to think, had to pick the words as if they were stuck inin hisHe had walked away froain That was the only comfort here

"I&039;ll leave you," he said "If it&039;s what you want"

"It is And rei isn&039;t your friend Whatever he says, whatever he does, you watch him He will destroy you if he can"

"He can&039;t," Cehmai said "I&039;m the poet of Machi The worst he can do to me is take you, and that&039;s already done"

That seeain, but didn&039;t o"

Cehmai&039;s leaden hands took a pose of acceptance, but he did not move Idaan crossed her arms

"You also have to be careful Especially if Adrah wants to beco I came for The body they found was false Your brother Otah is alive"

He ue had come Her face went pale and empty It was a moment before she seehed and began again "How do you know that?"

"If I tell you, will you still send inc away?"

Soh Idaan&039;s expression-disappointment or depair or sorrow She took a pose that accepted a contract

"Tell ," Idaan said

Cehh the halls, her hands clenched in fists Her body felt as if a stor out her veins She tre to be done She re the superstitious dread hich others had treated the naer knehy

She had made Cehmai repeat himself until she was certain that she&039;d understood what he was saying It had taken all the pain and sorrow of seeing hiain and put it aside Cehmai hadwith his father&039;s househi closed the shutters, and sliding home the door before she spoke Adrah sat in a low chair of pale wood and red velvet as she paced The words spilled out of her, one upon another as she repeated the story Cehmai had told her Even she could hear the tones of panic in her voice

"Fell me," she said as the news came to its end ""Fell me it&039;s not true Nell me you&039;re sure he&039;s dead"

"He&039;s dead It&039;s athe city No one could have rescued him"

"&039;Tell me that you know!"

Adrah scowled

"Hoould I do that? We hired men to free him, take him away, and kill him They took him away, and his body floated hack down the river But I wasn&039;t there, I didn&039;t strangle hi who&039;s paid their fee and also be there to hold their hands, Idaan You know that"

Idaan put her hands to herIt was a dream It was a sick dream, and she would wake from it She would wake up, and none of it would have been true

"He&039;s used us," she said "Otah&039;s used us to do his work"

"What?"

"Look at it! We&039;ve done everything for him We&039;ve killed the he would have needed to do He knew He knew fro we&039;ve done"

Adrah made an iining things," he said "He can&039;t have knoe were doing, or hoould do it He isn&039;t a god, and he isn&039;t a ghost"

"You&039;re sure of that, are you? We&039;ve fallen into his trap, Adrah! It&039;s a trap!"

"It is a rumor started by Cehmai&039;Iyan Or maybe it&039;s Maati Vaupathai who&039;s set you a trap He could suspect us and say these things to make us panic Or Cehmai could"

"He wouldn&039;t do that," Idaan said "(:ehmai wouldn&039;t do that toto us"

"TO you, youthe words out slow and bitter

Idaan stopped her pacing and took a pose of query, her gaze locked on Adrah&039;s As e as question Adrah leaned hack in his chair, the wood creaking tinder his weight

"He&039;s your lover, isn&039;t he?" Adrah said "This li to back my claim only if he could see you, could speak with you And you sendingwith Do you think I&039;hed to loosen it, only the cough didn&039;t end It becaht shake a rat It was nothing aboutabout violence Adrah&039;s face went red, and then white

"This?" Idaan finally ue about?"

"Is there so else you&039;d prefer?"

"You&039;re about to live a life filled omen who aren&039;t me You and your fathertheir daughters for wives You have no right to accuse reed e started thisthis landslide It would he the two of us, together, nowould that have lasted after you took my father&039;s place?" she asked "Who would I appeal to when you broke your word?"

Adrah rose to his feet, stepping toward her His hand open flat, pointed toward her like a knife

"That isn&039;t fair to ave me the chance to fail you You assuh it had happened"

"I&039;"

"There&039;s a price for doing what you say, do you know that? I loved youMy father,or anyone I did all of this because it hat you wanted"