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She averted her eyes "You honor me, my lord"

"I love you"

She met his eyes now, but uncertainty still painted her features "You are a good reat man May I think about it for a few days?"

"Of course," he said His heart died a little "Let me think about it" isn’t the answer a ed a little ro

In one way, he was horribly disappointed in himself In another, he was content He wanted Jenine’s mind to consent to this o He didn’t want her to choose in haste and regret at leisure

She excused herself and the guards let in Dorian’s next appointment It was Hopper The man limped in quickly and prostrated himself Jenine hesitated halfway out the door She had told Dorian that there was so about Hopper that she wanted to share with hiotten around to it

"Your Holiness," Hopper said, "the woedany of them into your harem"

Jenine turned away, as if e, but she didn’t hasten to leave, either

"Of course not," Dorian said "Not one of them"

32

Terah Graesin had moved the coronation up No matter that an army was encamped around the city, and that with their scant supplies already dwindling it ildly inappropriate to have a party, Terah had decided she couldn’t wait two months Her coronation would be in three days So Momma K had to come to the castle to meet the new court bard She knocked on his door

He opened, squinting, and looked about as pleased as Momma K expected She’d co--for the queen’s birthday She hadn’t mentioned the coronation was the saotten hi for a piece he’d have to colee Mars?" Momma K asked As she stepped past him into his slee’s sense of sht was bad Her spies said he’d even spent time with Alitaera’s royal perfumer

He hesitated Then, "You are Madalee’s voice was a tenor so clear it was a pleasure even to hear hi else about thesoHe had a wide, fleshy es, no neck, a perpetual squint, and a sy yellow tights on his skinny legs, and he had a tiny tricorn hat with a feather in it He was one of the ugliest one in their disease "I heard your new tale, "The Fall of the House of Gunder" It was fearless Beautiful You should writethe praise as his due "I usually prefer the honesty of instruood men die"

"An odd sentiment from a minstrel who’s been chased from half the capitals of Midcyru because he can’t stop hi the truth" Which hy she’d asked if he kneho she was At least he was capable of discretion She s at her

Damn all artists Their bribes had to co or instru sure they ell received Of course, a bard rarelymusic aficionado offered to polish his flute, either But it all had to be discreet The only punishment they could think to face for Moo, Moeous little flute case to a newly popular bard called Rowan the Red The girl had given hinorant compli noblewo her to his roos to do with her mouth, Rowan had quizzed her and publicly ht have sent her When Moifted wetboy Durzo Blint had arrived a few hours later, the bard was already writing a song ations, some of them true No one ever heard that catchy tune, or any other tune fro, and since then, Moood a resource to abandon They plied Momma K with every tidbit they knew and lapped up every ave her new information, for bards were always present at parties even if her other spies were not But Quoglee was different Quoglee’s stories were rare, and the nobles regarded them as absolute truth; other bards often repeated them He was hard to interest, but once that interest was piqued, he was a bulldog

"Do you knoho I aain, he hesitated "You’re the owner of half the brothels in the city You’re a woher than anyone would have believed My guess is you’re the Sa’kagé Mistress of Pleasures"

"One of ," Momma K said "She doesn’t drea Two years ago she dreah she’d never seen or heard of you and indeed, you hadn’t yet co burst from your mouth like a river The river was the purest, clearest water she’d ever seen She said I tried to stop it, but the waters overwhelht she dreamed the same dream, but this ti, but the song was unstoppable, and again I drowned On the third night, I swalee Mars, so I ask again: do you knoho I aé," he said quietly

Though she’d been prepared for it, hearing the truth spoken aloud frightened her But this hy she’d hired Quoglee Mars in the first place She’d paid him for a flute piece, then had her inforer story, the kind of tale Quoglee couldn’t resist telling But the erous "How’d you learn?" she asked

"Everyone knew you were Jarl’s right hand When he disappeared, none of the Sa’kagé’s as interrupted Agon’s Dogs continued training, the Nocta He in the Plith The Sa’kagé isn’t an organization to put off a struggle for succession just because there’s a war You’ve been Shinga for , slow breath "Fifteen years," she said "Always behind puppet Shingas Shingas don’t tend to die of natural causes"

"So what are you buying? I’ you wantof Terah Graesin’s secrets"