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"How could they have done it at all?" Veradis asked

"We don't have unlimited furypower at our disposal," Ehren said, his voice carrying a slight edge "The enemy has furycraft, too We thus have a finite number of secure furies Many of them had been diverted to protect the majority of the political and military resources of the Real"

"What are the odds they could have brought the First Lady down anywhere inside the city or enca seen?" Amara asked

"Bad," Ehren replied frankly "She's been everywhere since the capital Helped a lot of people She's better known on sight ahed and faced Amara squarely "Aquitaine wasn't behind it He couldn't have done it without rimaced "You're sure?"

"Very"

"Then it was the enemy," Amara said

"It seems likely," Ehren said "We know that the vord Queen still controls a cadre of skilled Knights Aeris and Citizens"

"If the vord have her if they flew out, they could be miles from here by now," Veradis breathed

"Aquitaine is occupied," Aoing to be great"

Ehren tilted his head to one side, a gesture of allowance, while spreading the fingers of one hand He looked torn

"Help us," Amara said

"There is a lot more at stake here than one woman's life," Ehren replied quietly

"Cursor," A to blindly follow a First Lord That you could find yourself used So it is time to ask yourself whether you serve the Realm first - or the people who are the Realm Gaius Isana was Steadholder Isana first And freehtly, and delivered the next sentence flat, without the coating of gentleness that would have made it slide home like a well-honed knife "And she was your friend's ave her a sour look but leavened it with a nod of thanks, that she hadn't driven that last home in the properly manipulative Academy fashion

"Aquitaine has all that reht," Veradis said "Who does the First Lady have?"

Ehren tapped a toe several tiround and nodded once, sharply "Coh the enca?" A focused right now," Ehren said "There's a force of better than five hundred thousand vord closing on us They'll reach the defenses within the hour"

"How did they get here so swiftly?"

"We're not sure," Ehren said "But logic suggests that they repaired the severed causeways"