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My heart called hi else That was enough to stop e infloor, or anything else, but the pain in my head immediately diminished from a shriek to a chronic moan My whole body went limp with relief

"Rest now" The disordered bed beneath an to shiver violently--shock A big hand stroked the soft mass of my hair I whimpered because this made my head hurt worse "Shhh I will care for you"

I did not plan what I said then I was in tooteeth, "Are you my friend now?"

"Yes," he replied "As you areall the way into dreams

"Life" (oil study)

MORE THAN A YEAR it took me to heal

The first teeks of that I spent in Sky, comatose The Lord Arameri, summoned to od, several dead and nearly dead godlings, and a human-shaped pile of ash, reacted reain and apparently spun aSky only to be repelled and ulti to defend mortal lives Which was o that it was difficult to lie to gods (Not for nothing was he ruler of the world)

I slept right through the restoration of the sun I’m told the whole city celebrated for days Wish I could have been there

Later, when I regained consciousness and the scriveners at last pronounced h to travel, I was quietly relocated to the city of Strafe, in a small barony called Ripa on the northeastern coast of the Senically blind young Maroneh woh to co relative Strafe was a e small town, best known for cheap fishskin leather and mediocre wine I had a modest town house near the ocean, with--I am told--a lovely view of both the placid town center and the churning Repentance Sea I liked the sea, at least; the sood days in Nimaro

With me traveled Enmitan Zobindi, a taciturn Maro man as neither my husband nor a relative (This was the talk of the town for weeks) He earned the not-unfriendly nickname of Shadow, as in Desola’s Shadow, because he waserrands around town for me The town ladies, who eventually overca us, dropped polite hints during their weekly visits that I should just go ahead andthe work of a husband, anyhow I ot over it

If they had asked, I h to tell theht we shared a bed, as we had done since the House of the Risen Sun It was convenient, since the town house was drafty; I saved a lot of , too, since ht Shiny held me, and often caressed ain my emotional equilibrium, so it was all I asked of hi for ed to fulfill the other’s basic needs

He talked s about his former life, some of which I’ve now told you Some of what he told me I’ll never tell

And--oh, yes I had becoic never returned after the battle with Dateh My paintings were just paint now, nothing special I still enjoyed creating them, but I could not see the, I went slower, because there was no Tree glis to see by Even if I’d still been able to perceive such things, there would have been nothing to see Strafe was not Shadow It was a very unet used to this

But I was human, and Shiny was s would change

I had been in the garden planting, since it was finally full springtime I had some winter onions cradled in my skirt, and rass I’d put a kerchief onbut Shadow and old ti

So I was less than pleased to walk intofor nized her voice, but it still startled me I dropped the onions They thumped to the floor and rolled around for what sounded like an obscene amount of time