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Kylar re to face Neph Dada It had barely been a conscious act He’d known that the Hunter hated krul and that it would be drawn to reclaiht it would come earlier and kill a lot of krul But ht It felt like he wasin consonance with the universe, with his own deepest character If the Wolf was right, that was its own kind of ic "I didn’t know," Kylar adot pensive "In this world of shadows, you believe? Despite all you’ve seen?"

Kylar took a breath, looking over the city in all its splendor and reo "We live on a great battlefield, and you and I fight behind enemy lines," he said "Like it or not, hts that helps me believe"

Ezra hmmed "I will consider what you’ve said The creature stirs The day’s battle begins"

"May the light shine on you, my friend," Kylar said

"That’s twice you’ve called me friend" Ezra see lost Then he s it "Thank you"

Ezra turned away, then hesitated He turned back "There is one other thing The red flowers? They’re a modified tulip not native to Midcyru They’re known as the Heralds of Spring They’re the first flowers to blooic, and Elene made them, Kylar, all of them She made them for you," Ezra’s voice cracked "I couldn’t save her I owed you that much, but I couldn’t save her" Ezra pursed his lips, and his jaw clenched as he crushed his own eo May I not see you in the Antechamber of the Mystery for many, many years"

Tears flowed down Kylar’s face There were tens of thousands of red tulips Every intersection, every field, every house was adorned with then to him of her presence, her joy, her acceptance, her love Only Elene would put such beauty in theto live without her?

99

Logan dispatched perhaps the fortiethTalented seei who’d used Curoch had borne Half of the Kylar Vi had a white streak in her fiery red hair now, and Dorian’s hair was gone utterly white like Solon’s, though Solon retained his sanity, while Dorian had coan had spared the man Dorian had turned at the end, and he’d certainly saved Logan’s life and the lives of everyone else--but they wouldn’t have been in jeopardy if Dorian hadn’t stolen Logan’s wife in the first place Or not in jeopardy today, at any rate

Scrubbing his hands through his hair, Logan al in the castle and had presented it to Logan, who’d lost his Cenarian crown in the fighting They’d wanted to start the coronation celebrations to crown hi care of his i reporting to hi him about the conditions of Khalidor’s huarded as his own had exploded Mercifully, he also had the services of eight thousand Sisters,With more than one in ten of his people a Healer, far fewer died than would have otherwise And Curoch’s ic had left them in a paradise where they’d expected a wasteland

Still, he’d hadafter dark Part of hi to raise an arure out how to repair a ht you dead, had re another ain and set the cron on a desk He looked around the room and realized he had no idea where he was He’d left an immense throne room and walked at randouards had followed hi as they took up their positions outside the door He guessed they knew he needed nothing so entle knock and the door opened It was Jenine She looked sray "Your Majesty," she said foran said flatly "Solon told me you bear Dorian’s child"