Page 63 (1/2)

Rand aze, and--despite the bond--she was aemstone eyes of his were deeper There were faint wrinkles around the for that

Those eyes did not look young Min felt a moment of panic as his eyes held hers Was this the same man? Had the Rand she loved been stolen away, replaced with an ancient force of a man she could never know or understand? Had she lost hih they had beco a very long tiain It was nowtheir early days together, yet it was still vulnerable It let her see a part of him that others were never allowed

That part was the youth, somehow innocent still She ran up to him and seized him in an embrace "You wool-headed fool! Three days? What have you been doing for three days?"

"Existing, Min," he said, wrapping his arms around her

"I wasn’t aware that was such a difficult task"

"It has been for me at times" He fell silent, and she was content to hold hied--and for the better--but still Rand She clung to hi, more and more of the back "Rand, Alanna is gone She vanished earlier today"

"Yes I felt her go Northward somewhere The Borderlands, perhaps Arafel"

"She could be used against you, to find where you are"

He sood to see that expression on his face again! "The Shadow does not need her to find ain All its eyes are fixed directly upon me, and will be until I blind theht, Min The time when it could silence me quietly--and therefore win--has passed The confrontation is assured and the screains the avalanche has been sounded"

He see He left an arm around her--the arard the Aiel "I have toh" Though the courtyard behind them was in chaos, the Aiel stood quietly

They were ready for this, Min thought The Aiel weren’t hostile, exactly, but they didn’t share the exciteht Rand had returned to lead them to the Last Battle