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Heribert pushed past Zacharias and grabbed the whih that rabbed the chair, and hoisted it

He sainst the floor

Splintered wood flew everywhere Mistress Suzanne and her household fled the chamber Even Lord Hrodik stumbled out in their wake

Zacharias took a step forward to calesture

"But not for lant "The way is open, but not forto her that she should call someone else in my place?" He hoisted what re ready to sht out in front of him She hadn’t fled with the others, nor did she show any fear

"Are you truly a daimone from the heavens?" she asked in that scrape of a voice "Is that why you want to return there?"

The wrath of King Henry was faood reason, although Henry was said to use it sparingly Surely Prince Sanglant was theof noblemen, or so Zacharias had coer full in the prince’s face, forbidding and inti, and it ly to the sniveling Blessing She had never seen her father so angry before

Anna just stood there, waiting

Sanglant opened his hand and with a shuddering breath let the chair drop It hit the carpet with a thud, clattering on the shards of its broken legs

It was suddenly very quiet The coals in the brazier shifted, ash spilled, and the firesound, quickly stifled The torches blazed back up, as if Sanglant had sucked the flaer, but probably it was only the backwash from the aetherical wind that had driven into the chamber and vanished as abruptly The room looked very ordinary with its two handsoe, and the tapestries on the wall depicting the usual noble scenes: a hunt, a feast, an asseirl and walked to the side table He poured water from a pitcher into a copper basin, splashed his face until water ran down his chin to drip into the basin, and swiped a hand across his beardless chin Without thinking, he licked the drops of water off his paler, or despair "Not an hour goes by that I do not think of her," he said to the basin, "yet does she call for me? Does she seek me? She lives, but she journeys elsewhere Just like my mother"

"Have you a nurseirl asked in her funny little voice

"I had one," he said bitterly, "but my wife took her from me"