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Ethenielle exchanged glances with Serailla and Baldhere while Paitar and Easar began telling Tenobia that they also ave her head the s Baldhere rolled his eyes openly Ethenielle had not exactly hoped Tenobia irl would surely e lot -- Ethenielle had often wondered how her sister Einone ed so well married to yet another of Tenobia’s uncles -- yet Tenobia carried that strangeness to extremes You expected showiness fro Doendary; hers ildfire in a high wind, and you could never tell ould provide the spark Ethenielle did not even want to think of the difficulty in getting the woman to listen to reason when she did not want to; only Davram Bashere had ever been able to do that And then there was the question of e she should have wed --House, the more so for a ruler; alliances had to be made, an heir provided -- yet Ethenielle had never considered the girl for any of her own sons Tenobia’s require else about her He must be able to face and slay a dozen Myrddraal at once While playing the harp and co poetry Hea horse down a sheer cliff Or perhaps up it Of course he would have to defer to her -- she was a queen, after all -- except that sonore whatever she said and toss her over his shoulder The girl wanted exactly that! And the Light help him if he chose to toss when she wanted deference, or to defer when she wanted the other She never said any of this right out, but any woman ho had heard her talk about ether in short order Tenobia would die a maiden Which meant her uncle Davram would succeed, if she left hiht Ethenielle’s ear and jerked her upright in her saddle She should have been paying attention; too much was at stake "Aes Sedai?" she said sharply "What about Aes Sedai?" Save for Paitar’s, their White Tower advisors had all left at news of the troubles in the Tower, her own Nianh and Easar’s Aisling vanishing without a trace If Aes Sedai had gained a hint of their plans Well, Aes Sedai always had plans of their own Always She would dislike discovering that she was putting her hands into two hornet nests, not just one

Paitar shrugged, looking a trifle embarrassed That was no s upset him "You hardly expectedtones, "even if I could have kept the preparations from her" She had not; his favorite sister was Aes Sedai, and Kiruna had given him a deep fondness for the Tower Ethenielle had not expected it, but she had hoped "Coladara had visitors," he continued "Seven of the seemed prudent, under the circu None, in truth"

"The Light illumine and preserve our souls," Ethenielle breathed, and heard near echoes froht?" The White Tower surely knew every move they intended, now

"And I have fiveshe had a new pair of slippers "They found me just before I left Saldaea By chance, I’m sure; they appeared as surprised as I was Once they learned what I was doing -- I still don’t kno they did, but they did -- once they learned, I was sure they’d go scurrying to find Melare Elaida hadTenobia "Instead," she finished, "Illeisien and the rest were more intent on secrecy than I"

"Even so," Ethenielle insisted "Thirteen sisters All that is needed is for one of thee A few lines A soldier or a maid intimidated Does any of you think you can stop them?"

"The dice are out of the cup," Paitar said simply What was done, was done Arafellin were almost as odd as Saldaeans, in Ethenielle’s book

"Further south," Easar added, "it ht a silence while the i in the air No one wanted to voice theave a sudden, shocking laugh Her gelding tried to dance, but she settled him "I mean to press south as fast as I can, but I invite you all to dine with ht You can speak with Illeisien and her friends, and see whether your judgather in Paitar’s caestion was so sensible, so obviously necessary, that it brought instant agreeht, "My uncle Kalyan would be honored if you allowed hireatly"

Ethenielle glanced toward Kalyan Ramsin -- the fellow had sat his horse silently behind Tenobia, never speaking, hardly seelanced at hile unhooded his eyes For an instant, she saw so not at a queen, but at a wo her breath Tenobia’s eyes darted from her uncle to Ethenielle, her tiny se flared in Ethenielle That s water, if Kalyan’s eyes had not This chit of a girl thought to marry off this fellow to her? This child presumed to? Suddenly, ruefulness replaced fury She herself had been younger when she arranged her ed sister Nazelle’s wedding A matter of state, yet Nazelle had coinning Ethenielle had been arranging others’that she had never considered that her oould er look His leathery face was all proper respect once more, yet she saw his eyes as they had been Any consort she chose would have to be a hard man, but she had always dees, if not her siblings’, and she would do no less for herself

"Instead of wasting daylight on chatter," she said, more breathless than she could have wished, "let us do e carown, not a girla prospective suitor for the first time "Well?" she demanded This time, h