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Amara considered the man for the space of a breath Then she nodded to him, somewhat more deeply than she needed to "Very well," she said, "Your Highness"

Chapter 19~20

Chapter 19

In the hours that followed, Isana listened to the vord Queen assault and savage the collected reen chamber beneath the earth Instead, she siht of the croach, and gave Isana a running commentary of the battle In neutral, unhurried tones, the Queen reported the outcoh of the ith the vord to translate the words into ihts She stood beside Araris, checking every so often to be sure that his nose and mouth were still uncovered His skin, beneath the surface of the croach, did not appear to be irritated or burned - yet But it was hard to be certain It was like looking at hilass of particularly poor quality

"I find it I believe this is a forh not a particularly potent example," said the vord Queen, after several moments of silence "There is a word for it I find the Aleran defense to be irritating"

"Irritating?" asked Isana

"Yes," the Queen said, staring upward She pointed with one black-clawed finger "There The workers and nonco the city And yet I cannot, quite, reach them Their destruction would all but assure the end of this war"

"They are defenseless," Isana said quietly

The vord Queen sighed "If only that were true Assigning nearly half the population as expendable protectors is wastefully unnecessary Most of the time It won't make a difference in the end, but for now" She lifted a hand and let it fall again, a gesture that so annoyance, and the fate of Alera, all in the sained handful "This world has been ferociously co"

"Those are woed, the sick Children They are not a threat to you"

The vord Queen's eyes glinted oddly "The women can produce ed and sick thereto allow them to drain your people's resources, but their experience and knowledge ht tip a balance, which would prove costly"

"And the children?" Isana said, her voice growing colder despite herself "What harm could they possibly do you?"

The vord Queen's lips spread in a slow, bitter smile "Your children are indeed no threat Today" She turned her eyes fro and stared at Isana for a time "You think me cruel"

Isana looked from Araris's slack, unconscious face to the vord Queen "Yes," she hissed

"And yet, I have offered your people a choice," the Queen said "A chance to surrender, to accept defeat without losing their own lives - which is more than your people have ever offeredyour children, Grandmother, but your folk have hunted mine, and killed them in tens of thousands Your folk and mine are the same, in the end We survive, and we do so at the expense of others who seek nothingmoment Then she asked, very quietly, "Why do you call me that?"