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I stared at the child Turunesh caught him by the shoulder and made him turn around to face us

"Where did you hear that?"

"Candake said it, do you not reon’s here while Ella Amida patched up his empire That is Debra Damo, isn’t it? In Ras Pria it"

"Is there nothing that escapes your attention?" Turunesh gave her son’s shoulder an abrupt shake and let go of hirain for the birds at our feet

I said in wonder, "Might Caleb have gone to Debra Daht indeed," Turunesh answered "He has been there before He took Medraut to visit there"

She reached out to touch my hand "If Caleb is in Debra Damo--he would pardon Priamos And he would see to Telemakos’s safety himself, I know it He would do it for Medraut" She did not take her eyes off Telemakos "They do not alloomen in the er"

"Are you sure Candake meant Debra Damo?"

"We can ask her," Turunesh said She knelt by Teleently at his ear, "Shall we take up Candake’s invitation to join her at the Feast of the Cross?"

So Turunesh and Telehout the endless Meskal ceremony in the cathedral square, while the courtiers and soldiers of the Aksued another year’s service to their ereeted an I a than he allowed hiuarded

"The rains are over," he said, "and in a few o home soon, my cousin I pray that you will take me with you, and not soency here?"

"I have arranged that Danael will becoship to Wazeb while his father lives, without his father’s blessing; Caleb has forbidden it"

Then he turned to respond to soht Candake I knew Constantine would not speak to ain that day He avoided the queen of queens

Candake had her own stand, close to the thrones of the viceroy and the e, but clearly separate frouards with her own They laughed and saluted one another as she ordered us to sit beneath her fringed u us fried cakes

Candake explained for us, loudly, every detail of the parade

"Those are the officers who lead the fleet That is Anda, a very nasty e of the Arabian prisoners who toil in the northern gold mines HOW MANY HAVE YOU SLAIN THIS YEAR, ANDA?"

No one dared laugh at her, or shut her up

"Those squadrons patrol the Highway of the Cataracts Those with the arrows on their helms patrol the lands of the Beja, where e Hours passed, and she did not fail to identify a single officer She fed us so much that Telean to reshape itself into wild boredoe his ared hers She was the only one of us who did not flag in her enthusiasm for the spectacle, and the only one of us who seemed to remain in perfect humor Telemakos finally fell asleep with his head in her enormous lap

"His hair is not so silken as yours, is it, Goewin, little Sheba? But such a color, like the snow of the Simien Mountains! Your brother let orgon"

She sighed, and save another chuckle

"There are the bala heg at last When they have finished, we can go hoh, HALEN, you let my son speak FIRST"

At her sudden shout, Telemakos raised his head with a jerk and stared at the parade There, alongside his tutor, was Priaus, they both looked across at us Priamos made a bow to his mother, and saluted me like a soldier He must have been no more than ten feet away from me as he knelt before Wazeb It was the first I had seen him in nearly six weeks

"Goewin, Goewin," said Tele! Look,like that"

"It’s the sun," I snapped at hiainst her She whispered at his ear, "Hush, my love This is a solemn ritual now Not another word frole minute’s silence of the afternoon, listened as Prian and state, first to Wazeb and then to Constantine

"Huo, they snatch at power, they wander off to beat each other over the head But I stay in one place, and they all come back to me: brothers, nephews, sons The lioness is the pride’s heart, not the coalition"

Priamos joined the ranks of other officers across the square He was guarded even now He did not dare to look at irl," Candake said darkly "As reat service"

I watched hi quiet and calm across the square