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“Later” I held Fornella closer, feeling only the faint, direy hair played over my face “My friend and I wish to stay a while and watch the sun rise”
CHAPTER ONE
Vaelin
He became fully human as Reva led the his end; begging oneinto brief, unreasoning defiance “You think you visit justice upon eanceYou do not knohat I sufferedI know rateful forDon’t you knohat I areatness”
He fell silent on seeing the black stone sitting alea as he forced the words out, “You think to destroy ift of iven the lie by the way he shied froaze over the statues before stepping between the Vaelin an unwelcome reminder of her father as she surveyed the black stone with owl-like scrutiny “You say this was dug frohness Thousands of years ago”
“So there may be more?”
“The seer ht it best left buried”
The queen gave a slight nod, her gazeacross the statues until it rested on the bearded lance at the Ally, who had begun to whihness”
“How far we can fall,” sheto the noble lines of the bearded man’s face, “if we surrender tofor Frentis to bring the Ally
He railed He screa at the floor with his nails, obliging Vaelin to assist his brother in dragging him to the stone where he thrashed hi between theasped, “Just kill one, the Beyond will not snare me”
“That would require the death of the body you stole,” Vaelin replied “And I made a promise to its owner”
“You are a fool!” The Ally’s head snapped up, spittle flying as he lurched at Vaelin “You don’t knohat this thing is!”
“A gateway to another place, somewhere I suspect you will be more at home”
“You don’t understand” His eyes widened as they played over the s, fixed in terror, his voice dropping to a grating whisper “When I touched it, when I receivedlooked back, sory”
Vaelin looked at the Ally’s sweat-covered face, his unblinking eyes, seeing no vestige of a lie He began to demand clarification but Lyrna reached out to take hold of the Ally’s wrist “Then let’s feed it,” she said, slaliht froe to the ave a short intake of breath then froze, Vaelin seeing the light fade fro slack, devoid of all aniaze searching the empty features of what had been Erlin’s face Vaelin released hi from the still and silent man as his hand slid liainst the stone “What do we do with it?”
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