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Dorian thought of the h to try to read the residue of the battles they passed? What would they old chains of office around his neck

"You, there And you, over there," he told the concubines "Jenine, on the floor beside the throne Sorry there’s no chair Hopper, over by the door in case I need you"

He sat then in the great onyx throne and as he put his hands on the sinuous arms of the chair, he felt connected to the whole Citadel, but most especially to its heart--its empty heart nohere Khali should have been Dorian thanked the God that she wasn’t there He didn’t know if he could survive that He could feel the h the throne that made the Citadel like part of his body, he threw the doors open with a crash

The meisters and Vürdmeisters hesitated There were hundreds of thes and the easy majesty of the man on the throne at once Most of them had obviously expected to see Paerik Their jaws dropped Others had known, had been able to read the vir to know he died--and, as usual, hadn’t shared their knowledge with their fellows, hoping it would give the his voice enough that all could hear, but not boo as an amateur would V&uu it too forcefully would make them suspect him

He let those ere able to read the battle read it Then he waited He let theic, even glance at Hopper He let theasp and mutter about who he was Dorian the heir, returned from the dead Dorian, the rebel Dorian, the defiant Dorian, the erased He waited, and ithiether in a wheat field

"How do you keep such arip?" Dorian had asked

Garoth Ursuul had said nothing He sirew above its fellows and lopped its head off

These enerations of that process None of them spoke for ten seconds, twenty, aV&uu a staff at the man

Two hundred shields sprang up in the throne roo wytch’s shield and fell to the ground Dorian favored the look and slowly theman who’d been about to speak scooted forward and picked up the staff, looking abashed Then Dorian threw another aht it Then he threw another and another until he’d dispensed all of the dozens he had, even his own

There weren’t enough for every h todidn’t arm his enemies

Dorian raised his vir to the surface of his skin, and brought them not only into his arh his scalp and for crown There was pain there, pain as they broke his skin and as they broke through channels of power that he had blocked long ago He was powerful again noerful and dread

"So, first survivor of training, first to accomplish his uurdthan, first son of Garoth Ursuul"

"But Dorian is dead," one of the younger meisters said, deep in the crowd

"Yes, dead," Dorian said "You have read the chronicles Dorian is dead these twelve years As now Paerik is dead And Draef is dead And Tavi And Jurik And Rivik And Duron, and Hesdel, and Roqwin, and Porrik, and Gvessie, and Wheriss, and Julamon, and Vic Dead, all of those who questioned my resolve So now each of you has a choice Will you question atherthem to me?"

Dorian’s face was perfectly impassive It had to be He had no Talent left, and no vir left if he wanted to live The throne had soh to destroy two hundred meisters