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Saetan closed his eyes, fought to stop the iht, sepulchral voice, to the instant chill in the roo the execution, Lady He’s the one who is very, very dead"

The rooot colder The silence was more than silence

"Did he suffer?" she asked too softly

Mist Darkness streaked with lightning The edge of the abyss was very close and the ground iftly cru beneath his feet

"Yes, he suffered"

She considered his answer "Not enough," she finally said, getting to her feet

Numbed, Saetan stared at the hand stretched toward hih? What had her Chaillot relatives done to her that she had no regrets about killing? Even he regretted taking a life

"Come with me, Saetan" She watched hi for hi her pull him to his feet He would never turn away from her

But he couldn’t deny the shiver down his spine as he followed her to the music room that was on the same floor as their suites He couldn’t deny the instinctive wariness when he saw that the only light in the roo candelabras on either side of the piano Candles, not candlelights Light that danced with every current of air,The candles lit the piano keys and the ht

Jaenelle called in a brown-paper package, opened it, and leafed through the music "I found a lot of this tucked into back bins without any kind of preservation spell on them to protect them" She shook her head, annoyed, then handed him a sheet of music "Can you play this?"

Saetan sat on the piano bench and opened the ile, the notation faded Straining to see it in the flickering candlelight, he silently went through the piece, his fingers barely touching the keys "I think I can get through it well enough"

Jaenelle stood behind one candelabra, beco part of the shadows

He played the introduction and stopped Strange ain

Her voice rose, a molten sound It soared, dove, spiraled around the notes he was playing and his soul soared, dove, spiraled with her voice A Song of Sorrow, Death, and Healing In the Old Tongue A song of grievingfor both victi, ancient, ancient s of Witch

He didn’t knohen he stopped playing, when his shaking hands could no longer find the keys, when the tears blinded hiht in that voice as it lanced thewound-- and then healed that

Mephis, you were right

"Saetan?"

Saetan blinked away the tears and took a shuddering breath "I’m sorry, witch-child II wasn’t prepared"

Jaenelle opened her ar for her clean, loving embrace Menzar was a fresh scar on his soul, one that would be with hier feared to hold her, no longer doubted the kind of love he felt for her

He stroked her hair for a long tie to ask, "How did you know about this music?"

She pressed her face deeper into his shoulder Finally she whispered, "It’s part of what I a of an inward retreat, a protective distancing between himself and her

No, my Queen You say "It’s part of what I am" with conviction, but your retreat screaently rapped her nose "Do you knohat else you are?"

"What?"

"A very tired little witch"

She started to laugh and had to stifle a yawn "Since daylight is so draining for Mephis, we didafter sunset, but I didn’t want to waste the daytiet soruet any rest I didn’t think demons needed to rest"

It was better not to answer that

She was half-asleep by the tiuided her to her room As he removed her shoes and socks, she assured hiet ready for bed by herself and he didn’t need to fuss She was sound asleep before he reached her bedroom door

He, on the other hand, ide-awake and restless

Letting himself out one of the Hall’s back doors, Saetan wandered across the carefully triht of wide stone steps, and followed the paths into the wilder gardens Leaves whispered in the light breeze A rabbit hopped across the path a body length in front of him, watchful but not terribly concerned

"You should be more wary, fluffball," Saetan said softly "You or so Mrs Beale’s young beans If you cross her path, you’re going to end up the hts"