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"Why did not you co Lia

"I ith Pasqua," Sohispered, so faintly that Getman could not hear it

"What?"

"She ith Pasqua," Lia said abruptly "You look terrible, Get to you?" he said with a snarl Then back at Sowe he glared "You did not join the ht It was Astrid, then? He told you? I thought I saw hi to treht To leave the Abbey"

Lia could see that Getman was bitterly disappointed in the turn of events He was humiliated, furious, and desperate He had one more year until he was required to leave Muirwood and he had counted on the Whitsunday fair to progress his relationship with Sowe He was cos, of course Most men were afflicted with that curse

"Astrid," he ely as he walked by the of concern for the boy She caught Getman’s sleeve "You leave him alone," she warned in a low voice

She was unprepared for the depth of his reaction A lidded kettle frothing so violently inside that the release let out a scaling hiss of steae In an instant he was screa at her

"Do not touch me! I swear I will thrash you too, hunter or not! You strut around this Abbey with a blade and a bow I could take you doith one fist One fist!" His clenched fist quavered high, threateningly "You are nothing, Lia! You were born nothing and you will die nothing! Like we all will! All of us, each one! I hate this place" His fist continued to quiver "If you ever touch ain, I swear I will thrash you until you are black with bruises You are nothing Nothing! We are all nothing here How I hate it"

A red haze of anger swelled inside Lia The look in Getry, so hu to lash out at anyone and everyone In one round Who was he to talk to her like that? He, who had been a bully to her all her life She had trained with Martin for aler’s ht a kishion face to face and nearly been drowned Who was this blacksmith boy with a cracked skull?

"Lia," Soarned in a tre else, Lia wanted to humiliate Getman Smith For all the bruises he had left on her ar he had done to the wretcheds What would everyone think when they heard that she, a hunter, had knocked hi! She could use the Medium better than Colvin or Ed in a way that Getman would never understand She was not just a wretched, she was a wretched from Pry-Ree And now she was a maston

Will you observe justice towards all men? Will you do no harm to any one unless the Medium commands you?