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Lia shook her head in amazement "I believe it When I crossed the Apse Veil, Maderos hinted that he could take me other places and other times as well So what have you done to Dieyre? You justspoken to hi severe There was the anger again, just beneath the surface, ier "He is alive though will not reveal where he had ain with, and he is being greedy with it I think she was taken or is being taken to one of his manor houses in his lands with orders to kill her if anyone tries to free her She is his hostage"

Lia sat forward suddenly and winced with pain at her side He gripped her shoulders and pressed her back against the cushions "That is a secret he cannot hide for long When you are feeling better, then I would like you to take soht-mastons and save her With the orb, you can find her"

"Yes," she replied reluctantly "I wish you had killed him When there is a poisonous serpent about, it is not wise to let it slither But for her sake, I alad you did not I heard what you told hihts and knew the trap he had set for you What a cruelher death as a consequence for his What is being done with hi free"

"Indeed he is not His ly buoyant for a man whose plot had just lib as he was, nor is he repentant He dee him and he will be taken to Pent Tower after Demont has secured the city It is a prison for nobles And as you uard constantly, as he is very rich and will likely try to bribe his way out of punisher as well? I thought so She is under guard and being kept in a room here in the manor house When Demont arrested her, he took away her heirloom necklace There was a kystrel embedded in the jewelry"

Lia was not surprised "She did wear a lot of jewelry But I thought kystrels leave a ed by tattooes Does she disguise it soely, her skin was not htily, that in Daho kystrels They claim that it is the only true way to use the Medium and that we are corrupted in our use After her failure, she railed against Deainst us all and promised she would see every last maston killed She ordered us to return her to her brother, the king of Dahomey, which ill not do until our racefully"

Lia grabbed his arht herself to ask the question fearing what the ansould be "What? The Aldermaston…he lives?"

Colvin smiled and patted her hand "His heart did fail hiate, but he is still alive And unconscious Every ti, the Medium forbids us to utter the words His steward has not left his side"

Lia was filled with relief and gratitude "In my mind, I saw him fall I am so pleased…so pleased we came in time"

"Barely in time, Lia Only barely If Scarseth had not carried you to the Leering when he did, then the Queen Dowager would have won For that reason alone I did not kill hih he stabbed you But we do not knohat to do with him He does not want to be with the few survivors of the flood but we have no other confine him back his power of speech He knows too er’s thrall, there is noit Demont thinks the Aldermaston should decide what to do with him after he awakens"

Lia nodded She felt a mixture of revulsion and compassion for the man who had killed her What a contradiction He stabbed her and then carried her to the Leering She would not have been able to summon the defenses without his help And she rehts to help free hientle knock on the door Colvin rose and went to it and unlocked the crossbar In walked Pasqua with a tray of food as well as Siara, carrying a bundle of fresh linen bandages and a dish of powdered woad

"She is awake?" Pasqua said suddenly, her voice rising "And why did not you bother to tell us, you unthinking clod? She ht so for you to eat, but now I think I will not let you have a bite of it since you did not co man, take the tray! I hope the soup sloshes on you" She shoved it into Colvin’s hand and hobbled over to the bed where Lia winced with pain, expecting a hug that would hurt