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"I have"

"You sahat happened?"

I wanted to apologize to her as I had to Mahina, to acknowledge my culpability in the situation, but the words stuck inthat had happened between us I had trouble bowing to her, even though she looked like she was one step away from death At the same tione hoht the healer, Moku ht very well be dead now I knew Hailana expected my loyalty to be completely to her, but it wasn’t and it never would be My mother had put the clan above her family I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to

"Yes," I finally said

"You must be thrilled to find me so humbled" A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye

"No," I repeated "You couldn’t have known--"

"I should have I e miscalculations, Tempest, and they have cost my clan its last chance at survival We are doomed now"

"There are survivors We can rebuild--"

She snorted, the first tiant sound come from her "Most of the clan is dead or injured Who is left to rebuild? After everything I’ve done to keep the them I am finished as their queen"

I didn’t knohat to say She had made mistakes and when the deaths were dealt with, when the shock had worn off, people would be furious that she had brought such a powerful eneht into the heart of the city She hadn’t ht Sabyn was on our side, but it was her job to seek out the truth Underesti Sabyn so completely were terrible, terrible mistakes

Still, I couldn’t leave her like this, ht possible "The clan can survive," I told her "We can prepare--"

"Oh, we can, can we? And where were you today, Te leader, one who sticks around when things get tough If that leader isn’t going to behu to lead these people?"

"I have no desire to lead your clan, Hailana I’ve told you that before"

"Your clan, Tempest Or it would be if you ever chose to accept us But you run between us and the selkies and the hu a mermaid means I have to--" I forced ret She eak and badly injured, after all

But Hailana only laughed "Have to be like me, you mean? Or like your mother?"

Now that she’d said it, I wouldn’t back away fro with both parts of her statement

"Oh, my sweet, naive little Tempest I didn’t start out this way, you know No one does But centuries of fighting Tiamat and a world that can’t accept our existence, centuries of fighting for s I once had high principles and a rosy vision of how the world should work But that vision isn’t practical Soe, when people live and die on the decisions you make, you can’t afford to keep your hands clean Soht of Cecily, of the way she’d killed those people without a flicker of re bad about anything That’s the flipside of moral coht fro"

"Look at you, so sure you’d never compromise those pretty principles of yours But how do you know? You’ve never been tested" She sith difficulty, tried to push herself up a little more on the pillows, but was too weak

I moved to help her, but she waved e Co morality If you’re still alive, that is"

Dread filled me at her words I wanted to turn, to walk away, so badly Because if I stayed, I would be giving her the satisfaction I had denied her for so long But at the sanorance if it ame