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"The Queen of Scelt is Morghann’s grandmother?"

Khary stuffed his hands into his pockets "Mlasses carefully on the table "Let’s skip the hunt and just tree the prey Do all these letters say the sah Lord?" Khary asked innocently

"All of these letters give perathered"

"Define ’extended visit’"

"Not long Just the rest of the summer"

Saetan couldn’t speak Wasn’t sure what he’d say if he could

"Everything is being taken care of," Khary said soothingly "Lord Beale and Lady Helene are taking care of the roo for you to worry about"

"Noth--" Saetan’s voice cracked

"And it is a reasonable coet to spend tih for all of us And, asall of us in one place would surely drive athe case, he’d rather it be you than hiesture of dismissal and waited until the door was safely closed before bracing his head in his hands "Mother Night"

Chapter seven

1 / Kaeleer

Saetan steepled his fingers and stared at Sylvia "I beg your pardon?"

"You have to talk to Tersa," Sylvia said again

Da so insistent?

With difficulty, he leashed his temper It wasn’t Sylvia’s fault She had no way of knowing how he and Tersa were connected

"Would you like so too much of his heart

Sylvia eyed the decanter on the corner of his desk "If that’s brandy, why don’t you pour yourself a glass and hand me the decanter"

Saetan filled two brandy snifters and floated one to her

Sylvia took a generous s and choked a little

"That’s not exactly the way to drink good brandy," he said dryly, but he slugged back a good portion of his own glass, despite the headache he kneould give hiht Tell me about Tersa"

Sylvia leaned forward, her arms braced on the chair, both hands cupped around the snifter "I’m not a child, Saetan I understand that sodom and some people are shoved--and a very brave few make a deliberate choice And I know dom aren’t harmful to others In their oay, they’re extraordinarily wise"

"But?"

Sylvia pressed her lips together "Mikal, est son, spends quite a bit of time with her He thinks she’s wonderful" She finished the brandy and held out her glass for a refill "Lately she’s been calling him Daemon"

Her voice was so low, so husky he had to strain to hear her He wished, bitterly, that he hadn’t heard

"Mikal shrugs it off," Sylvia continued after taking another large s of brandy "He says anyone stuffed that full of interesting things to say could easily get confused about everyday things, and she’d probably known a boy na stuff"

She never got the chance He was already lost, to both of us, by the tie"But?"

"The last couple of ti him to be careful" Sylvia closed her eyes and frowned in concentration "She says the bridge is very fragile, and she’ll keep sending the sticks" She opened her eyes and poured herself another brandy "Sometimes she just holds Mikal and cries She keeps sticks she’s collected fro basket in her kitchen and panics if anyone goes near them But she can’t, or won’t, tell Mikal or e around Halaway checked and they’re all sound, even the sht maybe she’d tell you"

Would she tell him? Would she let him broach the one subject she refused to discuss with him? When he went to see her, one hour each week, Tersa talked about her garden; she told him what she’d had for dinner; she showed hi on; she talked about Jaenelle But she wouldn’t talk about their son

"I’ll try," he said quietly

Sylvia put her e

Saetan went around the desk, cupped his hand under her elbow, and led her to the door "You should go home and take a nap"

"I never take naps"

"After that much brandy, I doubt you’ll have a choice"