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"Just so," Alera said "I can guide you to within a th of time But where the vord have claimed the territory I am too numbed to be of use in any task so fine and focused"

"I'll find her," Tavi said quietly

"I expect that you will," Alera said

He looked over at her "Can I defeat her?"

Alera considered the question for a ti more sunken "It seerowing stronger by the day, young Gaius In a way, every vord is nothing but an extension of her body, her mind, and her will So is the croach"

Tavi asserows, so does her furycraft"

Alera inclined her head "What I lose, she gains When she fought the caainst Sextus last year, she was already his equal in raer By now, she is stronger still Considerably so When one adds that to her native strength, speed, resilience, and intelligence, she becomes a formidable opponent More so than anyone in your kind's history has seen, much less defeated"

Tavi inhaled deeply and blew his breath out very slowly "And you cannot helpGaius," Alera said "Even when I was at the height of th, I could not have helped you in that way I can and will help you find her I can and will support your efforts to close to grips with her, as I already have since you landed at Antillus But that is the limit of my power You will prevail, or not, on your own"

Tavi was quiet for severalthat my whole life This is no different"

Alera lifted her chin, a small smile on her strained mouth "He used to talk about you, you know"

Tavi frowned "You randfather?"

"Yes When you were at the Acadeh you never knew it Often, he would look in on you while you slept Making sure that you were safe seeive him a kind of satisfaction I never saw in hi of the tent Alera said nothing and let him think She had, literally, inhuman patience If it took hi when he was ready It was a portion of her personality that was both reassuring and annoying One siainst her

"I We didn't speak to one another very often," Tavi said

"No," she replied

"I never understood if all that time he kneho I was, then why didn't he ever ever want to talk to me? Reach out?" Tavi shook his head "He h he never would have acknowledged such a thing openly, of course He was, perhaps, the most isolated Aleran I have ever known"

"Then why?" Tavi asked

Alera turned to one side, frowning thoughtfully "I know your fahts"

Tavi squinted at her and thought he had picked up on what she was hinting at "If you were to guess?"