"Have you any idea," he said, his eyes like chips... "Have you any idea," he said, his eyes like chips of grey ice, "how close I am to killing you for saying that?" Erlein paled but did not draw backNor did his own eyes flinch away
"I did not ask to be born into this time, charged by my birth with trying to set it right," Alessan said, his voice held tightly again as if under a leash"I was the youngest childThis should have been my brothers' burden, either or both of themThey died by the Deisa Bitterness cracked through for a moment"I am trying to act for the whole of the PalmNot just for Tigana and her lost nameI have been reviled as a traitor and a fool for doing soMy mother has cursed me because of thisI will accept that from
dior saddle herTo her I will hold myself accountable for blood and death and the destruction of what Tigana was if I failI will not hold myself subject to your judgment, Erlein di Senzio! I do not need you to tell me who or what is at risk in thisI need you to do what I tell you, nothing more! If you are going to die a slave you might as well be mine as anyone else'sYou are going to fight with me, SenzianWhether through your will or against it you are going to fight with me for freedom!"
He fell silentDevin felt himself trembling, as if a titanic thunderstorm had shaken the sky above the mountains and gone
"Why do you let him live?" Marius of Quileia asked
Alessan fought to collect
d & g fashion himselfHe seemed to consider the matter"Because he is a brave man in his own way," he answered at length"Because it is true that his people will be placed in great danger by thisBecause I have wronged him by his lights, and by my ownAnd because I have need of him
Marius shook his large head"It is bad to have need of a man
"He may come back to you, even years later, and ask you for something very largeSomething your heart will not let you refuse
"I know, Bear," said AlessanThe two men looked at each other, sitting motionless on the golden carpet
Devin turned away, feeling like an intruder on that exchange of glancesIn the stillness of that pass below the heights of the Braccio Range
saddle handbags birdsong rang out with piercing sweetness and, looking up to the south, Devin saw that the last of the high white clouds had drifted apart, revealing the dazzle of sunlit snow on the peaksThe world seemed to be a place of more beauty and more pain than he could ever have imagined it to be
When they rode back down from the pass Baerd was waiting for them a few miles south of the castle, alone on his horse among the green of the foothills
His eyes widened when he saw Devin and Erlein, and a rare amusement was visible even behind his beard, as Alessan pulled to a halt in front of him
"You," said Baerd, "are even worse at these things than I am, despite everything you sayAs bad,
prada china perhaps," Alessan said, ruefully ducking his head"After all, your only reason for refusing to come was so that he wouldn't feel any extra pressure to
"And after lashing me verbally for that, you go and take two complete strangers to reduce the pressure even moreI stand my ground: you are worse than I am
"Lash me verbally," Alessan said
Baerd shook his head"How is he?"
"Well enoughDevin stopped an assassination attempt up there
"What?" Baerd glanced quickly at Devin, noting the torn shirt and hose and the scrapes and cuts
"You are going to have to teach me how to use a bow," Devin said"There's less wear and tear Then something seemed to occur to him"An assassination?" he said to
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