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"I’m sorry, child Yes, she’s here You’ll speak with her to I could find on those rings The bond is unbreakable It seeood idea when they us and an to use the rings in political an to deerate the compulsion properties toward one side or the other, like yours are exaggerated to give you control I don’t knoe can understand the depth of hu what they had done, the Vy’sana, the Makers, took an oath to athered those they could find and destroyed the in your ear is at least four hundred years old That it survived to the present age is nothing less than a miracle"

"A miracle? You call this a miracle?"

Sister Ariel spread her hands helplessly

Her carriage aiting for her, but when Moot in, she wasn’t alone The dark blob in the opposite seat resolved itself into Scarred Wrable as soon as she sat "Good evening, Momma K," he said "Headed to the coronation?"

"As a matter of fact, I am You need a ride?"

"I don’t think so It seems I’ve fallen out of favor with the queen"

"It seeet so me stories about what I did to the queen So day I was drunk, but I shouldn’t have slept for a day and a half!"

Durzo Her stomach twisted

Ben Wrable’s face was as pale as his scars "It’s Durzo, isn’t it?"

"Don’t be ridiculous Durzo’s dead"

"I know I killed him, remember?" Oh, yes Wrable had killed Kylar when Kylar had been disguised as Durzo "He swore he wouldn’t haunt me, but now my best client wants "

"You’re not playing with me, are you? You didn’t send some other wetboy to talk with Queen Graesin?"

"I didn’t send anyone I didn’t arrange for the aainst Terah Graesin" Yet "Get out of the city for a while, Ben Durzo probably just wanted to make sure you didn’t take any more jobs for the wo, and that unthinking nod confirmed what Momma K had suspected: it was indeed Terah Graesin who’d ordered Durzo killed The bitch Well, she’d get hers Soon

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The Great Hall was filled with the creaiven the hardships of the last year, that cream was more like watered aro The number of nobles was also considerably reduced Some had been killed in the coup or at Pavvil’s Grove Others had sided early with the Godking and had since fled The chamberlain had done his best to fill in the ranks and bedeck the Great Hall appropriately, but the pageantry seemed thin For once, however, there was no criticisuards’ threadbare uniforms hastily patched with the colors of House Graesin while wearing a stained dress and borrowed jewels

Kylar stepped in through a servants’ entrance He had no wish to be announced; he just wanted to see the effects of his handiwork There was, however, one problem with the servants’ entrance: it was full of servants