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He felt a pang of sympathy now, but that was only because the two of theone forever Far too soon to patch up everything that had gone wrong between them, even if he’d had the tio, and found hi at the dead prince of Ghostland

Prince Kestin inclined his head He earing a ridiculously elaborate outfit, purple and gold with an excessive ahness," he said, with a polite half-bow "I ondering if your sister was available for a walk"

"She isn’t here," Varis said He had promised Darri that he would put a stop to this macabre pretense of a courtship; he could, at least, do that much for her "In any case, I wished to speak to you about her"

"To make sure I didn’t think I could stil marry her? She ize for any rudeness--"

Kestin se "What makes you think she was rude about it?"

Varis did not enjoy being toyed with On the other hand, he had no interest in quarreling with the dead prince Yet So he merely smiled politely and fel into step beside Kestin as they started down the hal toward the central staircase

"I’ve beenat hihost hunt"

Varis shrugged; now that the Guardian knew about the the at acks secret anymore "I was invited by a dead woht him by surprise Kestin stopped short, his face stark white For a moment he stared at Varis, his eyes dark holes in his face; then he turned away, his shoulders knot ed

"Your Highness?" Varis said cautiously

"You’re sure it was her?" Kestin’s voice was clear and steady, though he wouldn’t turn to show Varis his face

"No, never mind--don’t bother to answer that"

Varis stood, not sure what to do, until Kestin swung back to him The dead prince’s face was perfectly composed, no trace of redness or wetness around his eyescould ghosts ive me, Prince Varis," Kestin said "Before she died, Clarisse and I werevery close"

Varis had fal en in love only once--a long tiirl so obviously inappropriate it irl had al owed him to court her, and had made the correct responses, but had never loved him back He stil remembered the moment he had final y realized that, the abrupt transfor ones He looked at the stricken expression on Kestin’s face and said nothing

The dead prince turned away "There are things I must at end to We can finish this later"

Varis watched hio, then turned and continued down the halSpirits, but things were tangled in this castle He wanted the space and quiet of his room so he could work it al out It was time for him to make his next move, and that would have to be careful y planned

But when he final y opened his door, wanting nothing o away for a while, he found Darri waiting for hireen dress and an expression that suggested she was no happier to be in his roo her to leave and ihed heavily and closed the door behind him

"I need your help," Darri said

It had taken every ounce of wil power Darri possessed to walk into Varis’s room; when he wasn’t there, she It had taken every ounce of wil power Darri possessed to walk into Varis’s room; when he wasn’t there, she took a breath of relief and turned back toward the hal way Then she stopped, one hand on the door, staring out at the long, di at a cloudy night sky instead of dusty tapestries, as if she was thirteen years old and her sister ten The only real dif erence was the eht before Cal ie was taken away from the plains; even after al her plots and histrionics had failed, she had believed her sister could be saved If only Varis would help

And she had truly thought he would

So she had gone to hiht for her to realize that he wasn’t even considering helping her He was hu what had to be done

She had sworn then that she would die before she ever asked her brother for help again But then again, it wasn’t her that had died

Her heart felt frozen solid, while herto Cal ie, to what Cal ie was, to the translucent figure that had fled fro dark halShe had barely been able to take a complete breath since that terrible moment when she had thrown those coins at her sister Al those years of planning and hoping and longingand after al that, she had arrived too late Her sister was dead

Her sister orse than dead

They would never be together again, never ride across the plains; never laugh together infectiously, or lie together under the stars and trade whispers until sleep overcame them Even her memories of her sister would be tainted now, forever overlain by the translucent horror in that stone halAnd it was her fault She should have fought harder, bet er, to keep Cal ie at her side She should have found a way to come here sooner, beforeShe bit the inside of her

Itthis to happen to their sister It was that hatred that o sit on his bed She knew that if she left, she could never force herself to come back

Her plans were shat ered; there was no escape for Cal ie But at the very least, Darri could save Cal ie froe myself, Kestin had said, I wil cease to be She would help Cal ie gain her vengeance, help her spirit tear free of its unnatural chains and becohtened, the breath freezing in her throat Varis stopped in the doorway, surprise wiping his face blank That reprieve lasted for only a second; then he sighed loudly and leaned against the doorpost

She had been prepared for his expression of resigned irritation It pricked her pride al the same, and she had to force out the words she had coue