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He turned, clouded night sky outside thefra his featuresher book aside and joining him beside the"You have to talk to someone You can’t keep it all inside"

"I have to be strong"

She tugged on his ar ?"

"I’ on in there, behind those Aiel eyes of yours Rand, do you think I will stop loving you because of what you hear?"

"You’ll be frightened"

"Oh," she said, folding her arile flower, a for words, in the way he once had Back when he’d been nothing more than a sheepherder on an adventure "Min, I know you’re strong You know I do"

"Then trust h to bear what is inside you," she said "We can’t just pretend nothing has happened" She forced herself onward "The taint left marks on you I know it did But if you can’t share it with h his hair, then turned away, beginning to pace "Burn it all, Min! If my enemies discover my weaknesses, they will exploit the in the dark on an unfamiliar path I don’t know if there are breaks in the road, or if the whole cursed thing ends in a cliff!"

She laid a hand on his ar him "Tell me"

"You’ll think I’m mad"

She snorted "I already think you’re a wool-headed fool Can it be arded her, and soe of the bed, sighing softly But it was progress

"Ses A voice The voice of Lews Therin, the Dragon He speaks to me and responds to the world around me Sometimes, he tries to seize saidin from me Andand sos he can do with the One Power are aht! He let the voice in his head wield the One Power? What did that mean? That he let the mad part of his brain take control?

He shook his head "See claims that this is just insanity, tricks of s that I don’t Things about history, about the One Power You had a viewing ofinto one That means that Lews Therin and I are distinct! Two people, Min He’s real"

She walked over and sat next to him "Rand, he’s you Or you’re his you can do, they’re remnants from who you were before"

"No," Rand said "Min, he’s insane and I’m not Besides, he failed I won’t I won’t do it, Min I won’t hurt those I love, as he did And when I defeat the Dark One, I won’t leave hiain"

Three thousand years a "short time later"? She put her arms around him "Does it matter?" she asked "If there is another person, or if those are just memories from before, the inforain "But I’ him take control He can’t be trusted He didn’t e the fact that he did LightHyena "

Was this how it happened to all of the that they were really sane, and that it was the other person inside of thes?

"It’s done now, Rand," she said, holding hirow any worse Saidin is cleansed"

Rand didn’t respond, but he did relax She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his warmth beside her, particularly since he’d left theopen

"Ishamael lives," Rand said

She snapped her eyes open "What?" Just when she was beginning to feel comfortable!

"I visited him in the World of Dreams," Rand said "And before you ask, no It wasn’t just a nightmare and it wasn’t madness It was real, and I can’t explain how I know You will just have to trust me"

"Ishamael," she whispered "You killed him!"

"Yes," Rand said "In the Stone of Tear He has returned, bearing a new face and a new name, but it is him We should have realized it would happen; the Dark One won’t abandon such useful tools without a fight He can reach beyond the grave"

"Then how can in? If everyone we kill just coain"

"Balefire," Rand said "It will kill theood"

"Cadsuane said--"

"I don’t care what Cadsuane said," he snarled "She is on Reborn, and / will decide hoe fight" He stopped, taking a deep breath "Anyway, it doesn’t matter if the Forsaken return, it doesn’t matter who or what the Dark One sends at us In the end, I will destroy him, if possible If not, then I will at least seal hilanced down at her "For thatI need the voice, Min Lews Therin knows things Oror I know things Whichever it is, the knowledge is there In a way, the Dark One’s own taint will destroy hilanced at her books Herid’s little slip of paper still peeked fro the Ruins "Rand," she said "You have to destroy the seals to the Dark One’s prison"

He looked at her, frowning

"I’ Herid’s books all this ti away the rubble’ In order to rebuild the Dark One’s prison, you will first need to open it Clear away the patch made on the Bore"

She had expected hily, he just nodded "Yes," he said "Yes, that sounds right I doubt that many ish to hear it If those seals are broken, there is no way to tell ill happen If I fail to contain him "

The prophecies didn’t say Rand would win Only that he would fight Min shivered again--blasted !--but aze "You’ll win You’ll defeat hihed "Faith in a s spun around his head She ignored them most of the time, unless they were new, but now she picked them out Fireflies consuht, darkness, shadow, signs of death, crowns, injuries, pain and hope A teer than any physical storm

"We still don’t knohat to do," he said "The seals are brittle enough that I could break them in my hands, but what then? Mow do I stop hi of that in your books?"