Page 252 (2/2)

"Very well, I’ll inforan, you do not have to carry everything alone Your Rider faan knew her Rider family would help, she spent the rest of the afternoon in the solitude of her room away from the new Riders who stared at her and whispered behind her back It was difficult being looked upon as strange, and as a stranger, by her own They’d no doubt heard stories about her past adventures that made her seem even et over it with tih the transcript It was disjointed, so only the naiven her a fresh pile of paper, pen, and ink, and now shemore if she saw a flash of a face, or recalled even the most innocuous of details Bad air, she remembered The air had been bad in Mill City

There was mention of time, one of the most valuable pieces of information she had recalled If events continued in a certain way, they had roughly two years to deal with Amberhill to prevent the fall of Sacoridia and the rise of the Serpentine E home already have altered the tied, the fall of Sacoridia inevitable? Hoould the king and his advisors use the inforht them?

She did not have the answers, and for once was relieved to let others take responsibility for the over the transcript, lingering on names Sadly, she could barely remember the people except for ritten: Mirriam, head housekeeper Lorine, former slave and maid Professor Josston--uncle?

Then there was Cade She had the briefest of flashes, and they were like srasp and hold onto She wrote his na letters across a sheet of paper She had his name At least she had that an her letter to her father and aunts A brief "everything is fine" would not pass muster, not this time She started and stopped, started and stopped How did one explain to a worried parent about Blackveil and the future? Hoas she supposed to break it to her father she wasn’t dead? Such neould bring its own shock

Dear Father,

Contrary to what you may have heard, I am alive and well

• • •

Then what?

She welcomed the interruption of a knock on her door

"Come in," she called, and pushed away from her vanity, which had served as a desk Garth, apparently, was still searching for a suitable desk for her

She had expected a Rider, but the man in her dooras not that She stood and bowed "Your Majesty"

He took one hesitant step into her rooan" Not Rider G’ladheon, not Sir Karigan

To her, his face had grown more careworn She no a scar across his eyebrow Mara said he’d led forays against Second Empire He was more careful in his movements, and thinner than she recalled The assassin’s arroith its poison had taken its toll on hian did not kno she would have handled it all had she been here and not in Blackveil Perhaps the gods dealt in backward le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>