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She looked back at him with an impish smile "What were you afraid of, Colvin? That I would throw e out of you if you told me that?"

He looked at her, bes," she continued "They are sacred toYou say that we can never be together…"

"We always have a choice in our actions, Lia," he answered blackly "But we cannot choose the consequences those choices will produce I can forsake e I can forswear my oaths But I would be s to live out my days with a brood of children, away from wars and violence clashes with the fact that everykilled and it would only be ayou the key toyou to set me free To not bindmy oaths or my duty You will always know, to your last moratifying to hear the words, but Lia was nothing if not stubborn "But why, Colvin? Why must the future be as you say? I do not want you to forsake your duty Not for hed heavily and gazed down at the floor

"Look at ht about so I am not a hetaera"

The look of shock that crossed his face alh

"Be at peace, Colvin Let me explain how I know that word and what they are The Queen Dowager is a hetaera But I am not I am a maston too, you see" She smiled at him, pleased at the reaction on his face at her revelation "I took the oaths after you left with Edmon and your sister The Aldermaston conferred them Many of "

Colvin’s eyes bulged He sat straight up, his eyes flooding with hope "Truly, you are a maston, Lia?"

She nodded "I crossed the Apse Veil I wear the chaen" She timidly held out her palm and showed him the scar that the white stone had burned there He reached out, staring at it intently, but would not touch it His expression was full of contradictions – hope, fear, longing, joy, the realization of the possibility that her ancestors were mastons "You should see yourself Why are you so shocked? Is the thought of a wretched-maston so horrible to you?"

He shook his head "But what of your family? You never knew about them It is almost too much to hope that you will discover who they are"

"The Alderiven me some clues You and I – we both know they are dead I tried to use the orb to find them and it did not work Remember? The Aldermaston said that many of the nobles of Pry-Ree passed theHe implied that I may be related to the royal house A cousin of Ellowyn, perhaps" She looked at hiently took his hand in hers "So before you continue with your thoughts that we can have no future, would you leave a little portion of your ht? You said before that you will only oal too You also said that you would only be il Since we do not know for certain who either of h reason to hope that one of them came from a line which was bound that way"

He looked doubtful It was plain on his face

She let go of his hand and glanced down at the orb with a flush of tiine there would need to be evidence before an Alder cere to ask of you, as delicately as I can, is that you give e"

"But what if…?"

She put her fingers on his mouth to hush him His breath arm His lips were soft, except for the stubble "If there is a tome in an Abbey soe, then I will find it" She let her hand fall and blushed at the proave her "I ahtful

"Now it isdown

"What?"

"It is my turn to make a confession"

He uarded "There isa maston"

She reached around and fetched the bow sleeve and laid the weapon across her lap Looking down at it, she smoothed the woolen fabric "The Aldermaston did not want me to tell anyone Only he and Maderos know the full truth You have shared a secret with me that could ruin you I do the sa…of Winterrowd The king atching the battle frohts It was…near tothe standard of Pry-Ree" She bit her lip, pausing "I am the one who loosed the arrow that made him fall The Medium warned me to do it" She stroked the hard curve of the bow beneath the sleeve "I do not think I could have hit hi me When it was done, I fainted Maderos was there when I awoke, engraving in his tome what had happened I do not think it was an accident that I was there, Colvin You were supposed to bring me"