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Nothing he said should have bothered her, but she had been rubbed raw by memories "I don’t think you want to speak to me about divided loyalties, sorcerer I am not the only one who served two princes"

"I serve no prince" Albin ran his fingers down the side of his robe "I serve powers far greater, powers that will still exist years after this petty dynasty has vanished from the face of the world Did you expect me to abandon uard decided to overthroeak king? I don’t care who sits on the Sah was oddly hollow in the vast, gloomy silence "How noble But you care who stands next to the throne, don’t you? You didn’t stay for your records and experiments You stayed for your rich robes and the fine food and for people atch you with awe and step out of your hen you walk" She took a step forward "Hoonderful it one and there was no one to draw that aay froue sorceress died, and a raw young prince ould need your guidance ascended the throne But then that prince went and found ical in my sleep than you are after a hundred spells That’s the real reason you agreed to help Kaer, is it not, sorcerer? Because Rokan had me"

Albin’s lips twisted "An odd claim to make, Shifter, when he never had you at all"

She stood for ato say, and he s between the dark bristles of his beard

"You’re going to die," Isabel said

The expression on his face could not have altered ht in front of hi his fear Then she said, "Eventually Youcan a sorcerer extend his life--a hundred years, two hundred?" She kneasn’t even that long "You will die, and your poith you"

The high sorcerer raised his hand slightly, fingers curved Isabel didn’t think he was even aware of esture, yet her whole body tensed She was still afraid of thisher now, or he would have used it already

"And you will live forever?" he spat out

She lowered her eyelashes "It does seeers closed around e his eyes back to her Then he drew hihtly around his body, and disappeared

"Vanishing acts," Isabelin the space where he had been But the scorn sounded hollow even to her It was, after all,at the emptiness of the rooe She hadpast her had killed the king and queen, but not fast enough to save their children The dynasty had ended right here

Except it hadn’t She had a chance, now, to reverse that failure, to keep the right king on the throne The king--just a boy, then--whoo

She wished she had If she had remained with Kaer, she would never have fled back to her woods She would have been at his side, guarding him She wouldn’t have returned to the castle a decade later to protect Rokan She would have o

And it would have been easy

Why had she saved Kaer only to abandon him? What could possibly have kept her fro in and out of her lungs Then she turned and ran, through the cellars and up the narrow stone stairway The silk of her gorapped around her legs as she ran; she reached down and ripped it off, flinging the heavy swath of blue silk down the stairs right before she slammed the door shut behind her The silk fluttered soundlessly into the darkness; by the time it landed, she was already at the top of another staircase, in another hall

Kaer was in his room--for the first time, she didn’t think of it as Rokan’s room--fast asleep She smelled the rush of fear as he woke, and he was on his feet in a second with a knife in his hand

"Shifter?" He didn’t lower the knife Moonlight spilled into the roo?"

She felt a pang, thinking of that dark-haired boy who had never again felt safe enough to sleep soundly But she pushed that away "I want to ask you a question Put down the knife"

He didn’t move She did, and before he had time to react, the knife was in her hand and the blade was pressed against his throat

She met his eyes for a full second before she stepped back, flipped the knife, and handed it to him hilt first "If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead But I want to protect you, so you’re alive Don’t play ga expression Rokan could never have done that "You want to protectto worry about"

His voice was perfectly cool "Except why you’re here interrupting h space so he wouldn’t feel threatened, and waited for hirip ready on the knife, too; she could tell by the way the air currents eddied around his stiff, treet you out?"

His face didn’t so ht of the coup We were trapped in the laundry rooet you out?"

"Spirits, Shifter! I was six years old and terrified I don’t re

Isabel knew that as certainly as if he had blushed or avoided her gaze, though his eyes were rock steady But if she hit him with the truth now, she would know He was just off balance enough She had several seconds, maybe less, before he would be as unreadable as stone

"I didn’t save you, did I?" she said

Bull’s-eye He actually flinched

"I left you behind" She said it with disbelief

"You weren’t yourself You were half-mad" The words nearly tumbled over themselves "And I was unconscious by then I tried to climb up to one of the s, and I fell and hit ht I was dead, that it was too late You wouldn’t have left if you kneas alive You’re still ht She had been shifting, faster than thought, trying to think of how she could save them There was no way she had si behind so many dead soldiers she would have heard of the massacre, even a decade later

"How did you live?" she asked

"One of the soldiers, still loyal to led me out By the time I woke up, I was on the back of his horse"

"How did he do it?"

"Albin gave him a spell"

Isabel recoiled "Albin?"

"He played both sides froed to prevent the coup, he wanted insurance to keep you fro him The soldier wasn’t supposed to use the spell if the coup succeeded" Kaer sneered "Albin paid him well, and backed up his money with threats It would never occur to a sorcerer that pure loyalty could count more than either of those"