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He didn’t knohy he cared What had he been thinking, standing up for Sikvah when he had the perfect excuse to refuse the them stay after they had tried to kill Leesha? Was he actually considering becoht of e had always terrified Rojer He had left hamlets half a dozen tie is professional death, Arrick had always said Woe thes that drew her to you in the first place need sorting They don’t want you traveling anyht Or at odd hours Then they want to knohy you always choose the sunny girl to throw knives at Before you know it, you’re working as a corespawned carpenter and lucky to sing on Seventh day Sleep in any wo next to it, and leave the first time you hear the word proht, and even now, the beautiful harmony of their voices resounded in his head Rojer ached to join that harht of how their robes had fallen to the floor, it brought another kind of ache, one he hadn’t felt for any other woman since he met Leesha

But Leesha didn’t want him, and Arrick had died drunk and friendless

Abban’s wo food and reirls’ chambers never opened more than a crack, and always slaht at alagai’sharak, Rojer kept a nervous eye on Jardir Kaval had Gared and Wonda fighting with spear and shield alongside the other dal’Sharuht be too clumsy for sharusahk, but in a shield-press, there was no one stronger, no one who could reach his spear farther from the warded shield wall

But Rojer felt his absence acutely as he, Leesha, and Jardir followed the press with several Spears of the Deliverer, even though Rojer kept them bathed in his music and the demons did not approach Sooner or later, Jardir would ask Rojer’s intentions toward his daughter and niece, and if his ansas not satisfactory, violence and death ht quickly occur His

But thus far, Jardir only had eyes for Leesha, doting on her like atiht Leesha returning the gazes He wasn’t a fool He knehat that h of relief when the sweep ended and they were disers nu He was bathed in sweat and coated in a greasy layer of soot fro demons

It didn’t help that Gared and Wonda, flushed with deic, looked as if they had just hopped out of bed instead of heading back to it Rojer had never tasted thethe Painted Man dissipate and talk of slipping into the Core, it terrified him Better to keep the de knives

But after close to a year in Deliverer’s Hollow, the effects of the ularly partook were obvious They were stronger Faster Never sick, never tired The young ones aged faster, and the old ones aged slower, or in reverse Rojer, on the other hand, felt like he was going to collapse

He stu to fall into oblivion for a few hours, but the sweet-s Krasian oil lamps in his rooht out when he left A pitcher of cool water was on his nightstand, along with a loaf of bread that was still warm to the touch

"I have had Sikvah prepare you a bath as well, intended," a voice said behind Rojer He shouted in fright and spun around, throwing knives co into his hands, but it was only Areat stea in my room?" Rojer asked He told his hands to put the blades away, but they stubbornly refused

A her forehead to the floor "Forgive me, intended I have been…indisposed of late and depended overmuch on Sikvah in my recovery My heart aches that we have not been able to attend you"

"It’s…ah, all right," Rojer said, "

Amanvah sniffed the air "Your pardon, intended, but you do need a bath To, and you ?" Rojer asked

"Dark ai Ka the de days to hold hiht"