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A staff hammers on our closed door The voice of the Senior House Steward startles us, for in the normal course of our lives he is far too iirls When he speaks he sounds frantic, like a man about to fall into a vat of poison

"Open up! Doma Maraya, you and your sisters are demanded at once in the master’s study"

11

A horrible sick fear worms its way into my heart I can’t breathe Father has found out!

Amaya mutters a crude curse under her breath Even Bettany stares, stunned speechless by the distress in the steward’s tone

Maraya recovers first "We shall come at once, Steward Haredas"

His footsteps lumber unsteadily toward the front of the house, like he is injured and li happened to Mother and the baby?" A tear trickles down Amaya’s face

"Hide the basket, Bett!" I snap

When that is done Maraya leads us down the passage with her rolling walk We hasten through the fa the shaded ay that skirts the forarden Taberta kneels at the public altar, a stone basin set on a big block of granite She clicks through her ill-wishing beads, er utter aloud Tears streak her face

So

We walk into the reception room with its floor tiled with a scene fro firebird that fled its nest and found a home in a new land

The fa

Fear tastes like bile in uard at the closed door to Father’s study He lets us pass

Mother sits in Father’s chair, her brow furrowed but her face clear and healthy Father stands behind her with a hand on her shoulder As we enter he steps away from her His clothes are streaked with blood

He is a strong and good-looking man, hardened by war and yet unmarked except for a fewblood on his brow shock us girls into mute statues

The door opens Polodos enters with Cook, who carries a tray of drink and food

"I could not eat a thing after seeing that," says Mother in a tre voice