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"What does thatforward until he stood beside Darri again Darri didn’t turn to look at him, even when his hand brushed hers She stared at the Guardian’sfrom behind that mask was slow and reluctant "It ht al vanish Or theyunsaid, demanded, "Or?"

"Or," the Guardian said, even ht staybut not as they are"

Kestin drew back "They could live again?"

"It’s not probable," the Guardian said

Darri could hear her heart pounding in her ears, like distantKestin whispered, "But you can’t tel us it’s not possible at al ?"

Darri looked sideways at Kestin; his dark eyes met hers, just for a second, and then they both snapped their heads around and stared at the Guardian For a moment, before she remembered what it looked like, Darri wished she could see the face behind that retful y "I can’t"

Cal ie The iht Cal ie laughing, Cal ie twirling in the grass, Cal ie with the falcon’s claws digging into her arain Riding beside her, sunlight glea on her hair

And if it didn’t work, at least her sister would be free

"Telforward "Where--" But even as the word left her mouth, she realized that she already knew

The older dead al couard, Clarisse had said This hat they were guarding "How?" she said instead

"The spel has its liht have been a statue "The sahosts can destroy the spel that created theht and silver" He took a step toward her "The spel is in the caves beneath the castle, so sunlight is not an option But we al know you have silver"

Without thinking, Darri drew the coated silver dagger from her boot Kestin e and dark and shining She couldn’t tel whether it ith fear or hope

And she didn’t care

"Wait," Kestin said "You can’t--not alone That’s not a place the living should go"

"I hear that a lot," Darri said dryly "But the dead aren’t there now, are they? They’l soon be at ending a rather important coronation" She flashed a smile at him, and knew from the way his eyes widened that it was her old s

Because she didn’t care The danger to her wasn’t i that had always been i her sister She felt as if she had been lost in a storain

"Give theood show," she told Kestin

Then she flat out ran through the golden antechamber, down the lamp-lit hal s Somewhere to the left, she kneas the entrance to the caverns, but she didn’t trust her ht instead, into a straight, wide hal of polishedfor the stables

Clusters of people stood in the hal , sipping wine and laughing They turned in astonishli in the polished steel that lined the halHer face was set, grinized the expression: she had seen it on Varis’s set, grinized the expression: she had seen it on Varis’s face, dozens of tiht in his tent, when he told her that Cal ie was being sent away and there was nothing she could do to save her sister

She looked straight ahead and ran faster

Chapter Eighteen

The underground passageways felt dif erent this time, vaster and murkier They felt, Varis realized as he fol owed Clarisse past a cluster of bulbous rock outcroppings, e tonight, to watch one of their own beco

It should have host with hi hieways, the heh the rocks he kept stu shadows that played tricks on his rotesque faces slid past the wal s, wavering over the curves and cracks in the rocks None of which was helped by his knowledge that there was another ghost fol owing thery

I knohich way to go, to catch his at ention, Clarisse had said as she fil ed a glass flask ine froo into these caves completely alone He doesn’t trust me

An example, Varis suspected, that he would do wel to fol ow Which didn’ther into the real

Fortunately, he hadn’t told her everything either He was helping her because he was fairly certain that he kne to control her If she had been anyone else, he would have been completely certain