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"The only one?" Jared whispered "Those bastards killedall of them? All the aunts and uncles? All the cousins?" He put his head between his knees and tried to breathe ‘"Aunt Janine?"

Yarek rubbed Jared’s back "My Lady died at Wolfs Creek"

Jared squeezed his eyes shut "Shira and Mariel? Mother Night, they didn’t take Shira and Mariel, did they?" He sat up too fast

Yarek pushed Jared’s head back down "No, they didn’t get Shira and Mariel My girls crossed the Tamanara Mountains last autumn, with Davin as their escort"

"Davin?" Jared braced his hands on his knees and pushed hih," Yarek said firmly He rubbed his chin "Reyna was fretful last autu I knew, the girls were sent off with Davin and so up in Ranon’s Wood before heading west, hoping to serve that Queen on the other side of the hed "Thank the Darkness"

"You know so about the Gray Lady?" Yarek asked sharply

"She’s a Queen worthy of the best a ive If she took Davin into her court, he’ll do well"

"Then she may be the only Queen left whois worthy of it"

"No," Jared said softly, "there’s one other"

Yarek gave his nephew a considering look "You rode in alone What happened to the witchling?"

Jared blinked "The witchling?"

"The one bitten by the viper rats The one the little Black Widow’s been fretting about so ain "Little Black Widow?" He rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth "What did she say about Lia?"

"A to find help The rest of the it here" Yarek shook his head and huffed "Poor thing wasWarlord Prince knew about as ot herself fretted Now,a fretting witch Janine wasn’t much of a fretter All I had to do for her was keep some cheap clay pottery around that she could s, hot ride between the sheets usually eased her s the sahter--"

Jared choked

"--so I had to learn other ways of soothing, didn’t I? Wasn’t Janine who got Shira to stop fretting when Tavi performed the Fire Dance and then turned down her invitation to be her lover, was it?"

"What?"

" ‘Sweetheart,’ I said, ‘a young Warlord’s got a right to choose his lover sa witch’ "

"What in the naanyone to her bed?" Jared shouted

"She’d had her Virgin Night She was free to try out a h--"

"She’s twenty-five now," Yarek said, looking fierce

"Then why didn’t her lover escort her over the mountains?"

"She didn’t find one she wanted to keep Dain Night before she left--have a Shalador ht--but there was too much upset at the time, and it would have been too risky with her emotions all stirred up like that"

Jared braced his head in his hands and rown--up to a point--but Shira and Mariel? Shira, with lovers Mariel, ready for her Virgin Night and probably spending her evenings drea about which consort she’d like to request for that night

Lia, asn’t thinking about any of it

Heso prudish about Shira and Mariel for a reason, or are you just trying to dodge " Jared rah his hair What would Lia say about being called a witchling? What wouldThera say about being called thelittle Black Widow? "She’s--"

They both tensed when they heard a horse approaching at an easy pace, but they couldn’t see the road froreeting Minutes later, Lia and Blaed caround his teeth "She’s supposed to be resting"

"That’s the witchling?" Yarek asked, ju to his feet He whistled silently "Even dressed like that, she’s a lovely wo and er, Jared stood up hter"

Yarek gurgled a bit, but didn’t have ti before Lia and Blaed reached the at Yarek "Jared," she added cautiously

Yarek bowed low, then grinned "Lady I hopeyou"