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All my life, I have tried to protect you

The room blurs behind my curtain of tears "I’ering Before ain Sheelse, but it is too quiet foron for, hoping she ake and recognize ht turns even Finally, when the lantern has burned so low that the tent is all but shrouded in darkness, I put ainst her bed and listen to the wind howl until sleep finally, an

Maeve hears Lucent calling for her, but not until she reaches the entrance of her tent does Lucent finally catch up Maeve turns around to face her foruards place their hands on their swords’ hilts, their eyes following Lucent’s rave eyes They had ended their relationship a year ago, right along the white cliffs of Kenettra She should let it be; after all, Lucent had told her then that she would not agree to Maeve’s wishes I cannot be your mistress, she said So why does Lucent look so desperate to speak to her now?

"Yes?" Maeve says coolly The girl looks ill, and the sight of her wan skin and aching limbs twists Maeve’s heart

Lucent hesitates, suddenly unsure of what to say She runs a hand through her reddish-blond curls, then gives Maeve a hurried bow "Are you well?" she finally asks, her voice faltering

"Are you?" Maeve asks in return "You look terrible, Lucent Raffaele "

Lucent shakes her head, as if her own health were not important "I heard what happened," she replies "Tristan Your brother" She bows her head again, and the silence drags on

Tristan This hy Lucent is here The weakness of her voice cracks Maeve’s resolve, and she finds herself softening toward Lucent in spite of herself How she has missed Lucent’s presence, how quickly they had been separated again after the last battle against Adelina She turns her head and nods once at her guards With a clatter of armor, they step away and leave the two alone

"He was never ," Maeve replies after a while She shakes away the ie of her brother’s dead eyes, the mindless nature of his attack It wasn’t him, of course "He was already in the Underworld"

Lucent winces and looks away

"You still blaentler now "Even after all this ti through her head It is the memory of the day Tristan had died, when the three of theether in the winter woods

Tristan had shied away from the lake He’d always been afraid of the water