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"At the end of the day," Astrid said with a smile, "this is really her house Her land She doesn’t force any of us to stay, but where else would we go?"

"What about the scribe houses? Or that council they told me about in Vienna?"

"The council?" She sneered "Old men who think Irina shouldn’t leave the house The council of the elders thinks the only thing Irina are good for is breeding little scribes and inventing things to make thein with They’re the ones who allowed the Rending to happen"

Ava was shocked by the ire in the woman’s voice

"Okay, then what about the scribes? The ones in Istanbul--"

Astrid stopped walking "The Irin are far from one mind about this You’ve seen Damien and Sari You know they’re equal partners I’m sure your mate was the same They keep to the old ways Many of the scribes are just like that, because that’s the way it’s supposed to be"

"So--"

"But that’s not the reality Before the Rending--even now--many Irin wanted the Irina powerless If ere their equals, then that made the scribes less, in their eyes Twisted, I know, but some of the sickness of the human world has crept into the Irin race, as well"

"So ithdraw?" Ava asked "You can’t change things if you just disappear"

"We didn’t have ed and continued walking "We change things In our oay"

"In secret So that no one knohat you’re doing or where you are?"

"If that’s the way it needs to be? Yes Do you think ant to paint another target on our back?"

"Why can’t you ith the scribes? Work together? Malachi said that Irin were most powerful when they were mated"