"I didn't really see much. I heard raised voices, then the wind was rising. When I got into that square with the memoria, this Marcius was already there. After I cast the shield, he just disappeared. I was too busy trying to catch you before you hit your head to see much else. I was worried when I couldn't bring you around right away, and I brought you straight back here without thinking of anything else. I'm sorry."

"Tavis, please sit down." He seemed to wrestle with himself for a moment and she wondered in astonishment if he might refuse her. He returned the chair to her bedside and sat down after a minute. "You didn't answer my question before. Why did you follow me to the Gardensia, and how did you find the right part? Why did you cast that shield? He wasn't hurting me, so why would you do that?"

Tavis looked up at her, and the expression of pained understanding in his eyes confused her. "I- It didn't seem safe, you meeting alone with your father, and I didn't have time to get anyone else. Besides, I figured that I was the one person he might not recognize. I thought that, if I was close by, I could help if he tried anything, so I followed your trace through the Gardensia. As for the shield, well, I just- I didn't know who he was, or what he was doing, but it didn't seem like a good thing for him to be touching you like that."

This last was mumbled to his lap, and Fay saw a flush creeping up his neck. She thought about what he had said and recognized the telltales of leaving out, having just gotten away with a remarkable amount of it herself. "There's more, isn't there?"

In his lap, Tavis' hands clenched on each other, as if he was trying to restrain himself. The silence lengthened and they gradually relaxed. He seemed to force himself to look back up at her, his brilliant eyes capturing hers firmly. They were full of such a tangle of emotion that she was lost trying to decipher it all. His voice was hesitant as he spoke. "I don't like the way he looks at you. It's like he thinks he owns you, like you belong to him. I- No one should try to own you, Faylanna. Not ever."

This response stunned her, confounding her expectations. She reached out and placed her hand on his. "Why did you follow me? It wasn't just about my safety, I don't believe that. There's more to it. Tell me, please."

"It doesn't matter."

"But it does. It matters to me, and I think it matters to you, Tavis. I've seen you watch me. You never say anything, but you watch like there's something you want from me. Ask me, tell me what it is." He opened his mouth but nothing came out, so she pushed a little more, hoping it wasn't too far. "No magic in the world will let me read your thoughts. You want something from me but you'll have to ask me out loud."

"You. I want you." His eyes cleared of the tangled emotions and in its place was warmth, love and a deep need. Her heart reached out almost instinctively, and she felt the same hum, the hot pulse that coursed through her when he was around and they were alone, stronger now than ever before. The silence between them lengthened as she tried to understand what it all meant. Before she could move or say anything, Tavis blinked and stood up abruptly, his face very red now. He left the room without speaking another word. As the door closed behind him, she almost called out after him, suddenly not wanting to be as alone as she felt.

She sat there, feeling torn, for several long minutes before climbing out of bed carefully and walking slowly over to the bathing room. A long soak in the tub helped rid her of the last feelings of physical weakness but did nothing to sort out the chaos in her thoughts. The only things she managed to figure out were the choice Marcius had told her to make and the way both men seemed to call to a deep part of her. Why does it always have to come down to choosing a partner, she wondered. After drying off, she clothed herself self-consciously in the dress Tavis had given her and was wondering what to do when her hand automatically slid into the pocket. She sighed in relief at finding the pendant still there. She hadn't been aware of worrying about it but was glad to discover it undisturbed.

She left the room and went downstairs. She had expected to hear something, but the house was quiet and felt empty. She wandered aimlessly through a few of the rooms, clutching the pendant in her pocket. Suddenly she missed Ganson, and wished he was there to talk to. She knew she needed advice from someone she could trust, but she wasn't even sure if Ganson was alive, or if she would ever see him again if he was. The thought set off a dull ache in her heart.

She was walking down the hall that led to the private garden when she heard the sound of paper being moved and a quill scratching in a room just ahead of her. Grateful for a sign that they hadn't all abandoned her, she peered through the doorway. An older man, with deep brown hair that hung to his broad shoulders, was bent over a desk facing the window in a study that reminded her forcefully of Ganson's in Voleno. At first, she wasn't sure who he was. She didn't remember seeing him in the house before and such a fine linen shirt, embroidered down the back from what little she could see, would have remained in her memory. Then she noticed two garments folded over the back of the chair he sat in and recognized them. The loose cream robe and black scarf Ki wore everywhere.

She struggled with her curiosity about this man now that she had a chance to see him absent the usual coverings, but there was little she could see from behind. She thought it might be just as well, as she had become sure he was using the garments to hide his ident.i.ty. She had decided to retreat when he spoke without looking up or turning his head. In his voice, she heard none of his earlier anger, only amused resignation. "Come in, Faylanna. Close the door behind you and come sit. I think it's time we had a talk at last."

She again heard that note of command in the familiar voice as she obeyed without thought. Who is he that we all defer to him and he thinks nothing of that deference, she wondered. She walked around the desk toward the chair opposite him, her eyes on him as she went. She halted halfway to the chair as she recognized his profile. The reasons for so many things fell into place. He looked up at her, smiled and gestured to the chair as he set his quill down.

She dropped into the seat, shock rendering her graceless. She could not seem to get above a whisper as she said, "Crown Prince Keari."

"Yes. You have a good memory, Faylanna. It's been more than a few years since we met."

"At the Ball, when my father took me."

He smiled. "I still remember quite clearly how lovely you looked, though so young. You were eleven, as I recall."

She could only nod, her stunned wits refusing to function. She knew she should have curtseyed. She should be engaging in all the proper t.i.tles and courtesies owed to the heir to the empire, but they had fled her mind for the moment.

The prince sighed, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands on the desk. "I knew from the moment Eliar brought you here it was inevitable that you would find out who I am."

She stammered, "I wasn't trying to pry. I swear-"

He held up a hand. "Nor am I accusing you of it. I was perhaps careless in leaving the door open when I knew you were awake. Or perhaps I was eager for the relief I now feel at not having to hide in my own house." He said this last with a smile, so she knew it was a rebuke to no one but himself. "You will not be able to discuss this with anyone. Only Lydia, Eliar and my father know that I am a Magicia. It's possibly the most closely guarded secret in the empire at present."

She nodded and frowned. "But what about the Law of Succession? It says that no Magicia may rule-"

"That," he said with emphatic finality, "is my father's concern. You and I have other matters to discuss. Are you going to tell me what you were hiding from us upstairs? I know there is something you were keeping back, but not what."

She thought quickly about it, knowing she would have to tell him something, disappointed to find out that she had not been as convincing as she had believed. Then she thought about her conversation with Tavis upstairs. "I need some advice, but I would prefer it remain just between us. Is that possible?"

He watched her as he considered her words, holding his long fingers steepled in front of him. "I can agree to that, so long as doing so doesn't endanger anyone."

She had actually been more concerned that Lydia might find out, but realized that it might be out of his control to keep such promise. She didn't know enough about the bond to be sure. Putting that consideration aside, she turned his words over and decided it was as good as she was likely to get, though not what she had hoped for. "What I didn't mention, because it didn't seem important at first, was that when Marcius appeared in the Gardensia, he spoke to me. He wanted me to make a choice." She decided to leave out how she now felt capable of choosing to bond with someone, a feeling that confused her too much to speak of. "I didn't understand what he meant at the time. I think I do now, after Tavis- Well, he said that he... that he wants me."

Keari smiled. "So the boy finally told you how he feels."

She dropped her eyes, feeling a blush spread across her cheeks. Had everyone known but her, she wondered. "Yes. But now that I know there's a choice, I can't seem to sort out how to feel about either of them. And I still don't know if I want to choose at all."

The prince did not seem to catch the half-truth. It no longer seemed to be a matter of wanting to or not. She actually felt that she must bond with someone, whomever she might choose, but didn't know how to explain the sudden change. When he spoke, she could hear in his voice that he was still smiling. "Eliar mentioned to me, just after the three of you arrived here, that you had a desire to prove yourself, to prove that a Magicia doesn't need a partner to be accomplished. Is that what you mean about not wanting to choose?"

"Yes. I just- I don't want to be an adjunct to someone else. I want to be something in my own right." She was surprised to realize that, despite her newly changed feelings on bonding, this much still held true in her heart.

She heard his chair creak and then his slender fingers hooked gently under her chin and raised her face to look at him. He was leaning forward now, looking at her earnestly. "Are you sure of what it is you're being asked to choose? Do you understand the options that have been laid before you, Faylanna?"

His hand returned to the desk in front of him as he waited for her to answer. She tried to consider it, but could think of nothing that warranted his serious tone. "I'm trying to chose between two men who want to be my partner."

He shook his head. "I didn't think you really understood. I'm not going to explain it to you, because I think you need to figure it out for yourself, but you should examine closely not only what each of them offer you, but what they are asking of you in return. You might be surprised by the answer to those questions. Truthfully, I'm not sure I know the answer myself, and that makes me worry about you."

She wanted to swear. She had been hoping he would help her sort out her feelings, but was now even more confused by the idea that she might not have a clear handle even on the question. She felt her head begin to ache from trying to make sense of it all. To distract herself, she asked him, "Why did you bond with Lydia? Doesn't that increase the risk you'll be discovered? Surely people will notice that she acts like your partner."

"So I once thought as well," he said, laughing softly. "Often we are wrong where we a.s.sume we can see all the possibilities. Did you know that Eliar was my tutor and mentor in my youth, as Ganson has been for you these past few years?" She shook her head. "That's how Lydia and I first met. We've known each other since I was nine. That was when my father found out that I was capable of magic and brought Eliar in to teach me, though what he was teaching me was a secret. As Eliar had long been a renowned scholar, my father was able to make it seem entirely natural. Eliar moved into the palace with his family, including Lydia.

"I remember the first time I saw her. I was peeking around the door of their new apartments. She was with her mother, who was directing workmen with their belongings. Lydia was only a year younger than I was and I had a burning curiosity to know children my own age. Then she turned around and saw me. I knew immediately that she was special. But when Eliar saw us together, saw the way we were looking at each other, he got angry and ordered Lydia's mother to keep us apart. It didn't work, but they did try." He smiled fondly at the memory. Then he became sad.

"When I was nineteen, Lydia disappeared from the palace. When I asked Eliar where she had gone, he refused to speak of it or her. I- found out later what happened. Eliar tried to marry Lydia to someone from Fioselto. I'm sure it was in order to get her out of the palace and away from me before we could bond to each other. She refused him, because she loved me as much I loved her. The law gave her grandfather the right to marry her to whomever he chose though, so she fled. I tried to find her, but I didn't know where to start looking and had no time. My father had begun to lay some of the burdens of ruling on me, to prepare me for the day when I will become Emperor.

"I didn't see her again until she returned to Rianza two years ago. You can imagine that it was a shock, but I believed she had come back to me. She hadn't though." His tone was rueful as he said this. "Lydia was there to warn me of Calder when she saw that his intention was to move fully into my father's court. She planned to leave right away, but I couldn't bear the thought. From the moment I laid eyes on her again, I found that the pull to be with her had only intensified over the years we were apart. We argued. I convinced her to stay, and we bound ourselves that night. She now lives as part of my household, publicly known as one of my advisers, though some know that there is more to our relationship.

"The surprising part has been that it's now easier for me to conceal what I am around the palace. You see, everyone knows Lydia is a Magicia, so they attribute any magic that occurs in her presence to her. I still have to be cautious, if only to avoid inadvertently doing anything when she's not around, but it's more freedom to exercise magic than I've had my whole life."

Keari paused and studied her for a while before continuing. "I understand what it is to be afraid of the bond, Faylanna, of the consequences it will have for you, but let my story show you that they are not always the ones you expect. One day, when you find the right person, I hope you will recognize it and grasp the opportunity. You won't want to lose them when you find them, I'm sure of that. Trust yourself, your feelings and theirs as well. You won't regret it."

Fay's head was swimming with all he had told her and she had forgotten what she had started out asking when he said, "Now that we have gone rather far afield, I'd like to give you the advice you asked for. Among the many subjects I studied growing up was the history of our realm, so I'm no stranger to the story of Marcius. I am also aware of Eliar's doubts regarding his guilt. But now that we know he is involved with your father, I am more concerned about him and the intentions both of them harbor for you than I am about his past."

For a moment he looked uncomfortable, then said, "I need to apologize for my behavior upstairs. I was angry because I was worried about you. It was perhaps an overreaction, but I am still worried, Faylanna. I have watched over you since we met at that Imperial Ball, more closely than you might believe. Did you know that Calder tried that night to persuade the Emperor to marry you and I, despite my being of an age with him? I didn't think so, but that was why I started to watch over you. I was charmed by you from the beginning and it was clear to me that you needed to have someone's protection, before he arranged something worse. I'd like to think I'm honorable enough to not take advantage of an eleven year old child, but there are men among our n.o.bles who are less than admirable, and I feared what would happen to you. Years later, when Calder's behavior grew more suspicious, it was I who requested the Council Magicia move you to Voleno. Eliar asked Ganson to act as your mentor and protector there at my request. All in hopes that we could keep him from fulfilling whatever bargain he had made, but it's beginning to appear that there is nothing we can do to protect you from it. So we must inform you, that you might make the right choice."

She heard the strange echo of Marcius' words and frowned. "But if Eliar is right and Marcius was innocent of the murder-"

"That was not the only crime he was found guilty of. The other was impossible to doubt. Were it not so, I a.s.sure you, I would have insisted on his release already. You must understand, Faylanna, he is not guiltless. And, as with your father, I am concerned by his reported behavior toward you. I remind you that properly, he should not even be able to reach you from the Mirror."

"And Tavis?"

He considered this for a moment. "This is the first time I've met him. Lydia never mentioned that she had a son, in fact." His expression was troubled as he said this, but then it cleared. "I don't know Tavis well, but he seems a sincere, intelligent young man. Education can come at any age, Faylanna, but intelligence and willingness to learn, those must be there from the beginning. And he certainly is concerned about you, even if I don't necessarily agree with his judgment in certain things. Perhaps you should spend more time with him, learn more of him with an open heart before you make any irrevocable decisions."

She supposed she should not have expected the advice would be any different from this, but somehow she had. She remembered how charming the prince had been at the ball, how attentive he had been as they had sat and talked and the serious consideration he had given the opinions of an eleven year old girl. She had expected him to actually consider both options, she supposed, but it seemed that he was determined that she not choose Marcius for any reason. Deciding she would have to form her own opinion, she said, "I have a lot to think about, I guess. Do you have any books here on Marcius or the Mirrors? I've nothing else to do and perhaps I need to read about it for myself, to really understand."

Keari watched her for a minute and she got the impression that she hadn't fooled him at all. At last he rose, selected two books from the shelves that lined half of the study and handed them to her. He sat back at the desk and returned to his papers without any of the arguments she'd half expected.

Chapter 13.

Fay settled into one of the two armchairs by the cold fireplace on the other end of the study. She took the thinner of the two books, a treatise on the Mirrors of Bershan, and opened it. Skimming through, she found it contained mostly the same information Eliar had told her and theories on the origins of the Mirrors. The one thing that caught her eye was a small note about the sigils carved across the top of the frame of each Mirror. According to the book, the sigils glowed golden when the Mirror was locked, but turned silver when it was open. She tried to remember what they had looked like in her dream, but couldn't recall them even being there.

She tucked the treatise under the second book and opened that one. A larger tome, it was a record of the major crimes committed by Magicia during the history of the empire. From its size, she began to wonder if she belonged to a group more corrupt than she had ever believed. When she turned to the table of contents though, she discovered it mercifully short. She found the entry for Marcius, which was nearly the final chapter of the book and turned to it. Though it was a detailed account of Marcius' life and his crimes, everything was the same as what she'd been told before. She wondered if there was any chance she could find out more than she already knew. She began to read an account of the discovery of him with the body of his partner and her irritation boiled over. She was about to close the book when a small drawing near the bottom of the page caught her eye. It was the pendant. The drawing was such a perfect replica that her hand crept to press on the pocket in her dress, the ridges of it under her fingers rea.s.suring her that it was still there. She read the description next to the drawing and found out that it was on the floor next to the body after they had taken Marcius away.

His voice, seeming to come out of the air around her, whispered to her. It wasn't mine, but for some reason it lets me reach out to you more easily. Perhaps you should wear it again, next to your skin. It was so easy to be with you then.

She jumped, and the book about the Mirrors slipped from her lap, landing on the floor with a loud thump. As she bent over to pick it up, the sound of quill on parchment ceased and Keari asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine. It slipped, that's all." Fay was amazed that her voice was steady. She waited until she heard the sound of the prince's quill before looking around, trying to turn her head as little as possible, but she saw nothing. Returning to the book, she saw a record of the trial came next and began reading through that, hoping to discover what connection the pendant might have with Marcius, if it wasn't his.

As she read, he whispered again. Faylanna, please, tell me you can hear me. I didn't do this thing that you're reading about.

She didn't respond. She wasn't sure if she could, or if she should. Instead, she read that no one else was found in the vicinity, that only he had the opportunity to kill the victim. Marcius tried again, his words tugging at her concentration. Please, you have to listen to me. I was innocent, I told you this. I didn't kill Landra, I couldn't have. I loved her. The pendant they found, it should have been proof I didn't do it because it wasn't mine.

Though she could hear his increasing desperation, she remained silent. She focused instead on the transcript as it laid out a pattern of gradually worsening jealousy from Marcius, but his ceaseless words made it very difficult for her to grasp what he had been jealous of. Faylanna, I'm not evil, I swear it to you. I believed it for a while, as I believed that I must have killed her when they put me in this terrible place. But I don't think I could have. I loved my partner. Landra was everything to me, as I want to be to you. Please, don't hate me!

It was the misery and desperate need in his last words that made her stop reading and reflexively respond in her thoughts. I don't hate you, Marcius.

His delight at her response was palpable. His words wrapped around her in an almost physical sensation. Thank you. Oh, my sweet, thank you. You have no idea what it is to be trapped in this place, to reach someone after so long, so alone and... She could feel his hesitation, then he said, Don't tell the others about this, mustn't tell them, they won't understand. I can feel that they already don't understand what exists between us. Don't let them come between us.

His request surprised her, but she could see the logic in it. None of them would listen, none would be willing to admit they might be wrong about Marcius, not even Keari who seemed to listen to everyone before deciding. Before she could reply though, she heard Eliar in the front hall, obviously returned and yelling for everyone to come downstairs. She set the books on the table beside her as she rose, turning to see Keari do the same, but then Eliar walked into the room and motioned for them to sit.

"I see you finally let the girl know who you really are. About time," was Eliar's only comment on seeing Keari undisguised. He settled into the chair next to Fay.

They waited for several minutes before Lydia came in with Tavis behind her. Fay noticed that he wouldn't look at her as he found a place to sit and a strange satisfaction that she instantly recognized as not her own filled her mind. She realized that Marcius was still with her thoughts and seemed aware of the things she perceived. It was odd to her, and she thought it was something new, which made her wonder what it could mean. Once they had settled into chairs, Eliar looked around at them and began, "This might be the worst news, really. The ninth Mirror, the one they used to imprisoned Marcius, is missing from its vault in the Hall of Mirrors. No one had the slightest idea it was gone or when it could have disappeared. When I checked the records, the last visit was several years ago, by your uncle." He nodded to Keari, who was leaning against the front of his desk. "In fact, he's been visiting the vaults regularly in recent years."

Keari shrugged, but looked uncomfortable. "That's not necessarily significant. He is the Minister of Justice. Those vaults and the Mirrors are among his responsibilities."

Eliar frowned. "If he had been visiting all of the vaults, I would agree, but in the years since his last recorded visit to the ninth Mirror, he has continued to visit the others on a yearly basis. He only stopped visiting the one that is missing."

Keari looked even more troubled now, but a servant entered the room at that moment and offered him a sealed letter. He took it and the dismissed the servant absently. The seal on the letter focused his attention as he turned it over. Breaking it and unfolding the letter, he read it quickly and then looked up at Fay. "We must leave at once for the Imperial Palace, Faylanna. The Emperor wishes to see you. I think I have a spare robe you can borrow."

She was confused. "Why do I need a robe?"

"The Emperor wishes this audience to be discreet, that it will not reach certain ears, your father's among them." He looked at her for a moment, frowning. "No, mine won't do. Too long, it will be noticeable. Lydia, do you still have that one you used to wear in the summer, with the hood?"

Lydia nodded and left the room. Tavis spoke up. "I guess I could use one of yours, then. We're about the same height, I think."

Keari shook his head. "No, you will remain here, with Eliar. A smaller party will be able to enter without notice. I know a way, but the more people we take, the more likely we will be seen and remarked upon. Lydia and I can protect Faylanna sufficiently well, Tavis."

As Keari was donning his own robe and concealing scarf, Lydia returned with a light grey linen robe that she handed to Fay. As she put it on over her dress with Lydia's help, Tavis appealed to his mother. "I should come with you, Mother, but Ki says I have to stay behind. Can't you reason with him?"

Lydia froze and slowly turned to her son. As she did, Fay saw that her expression was one of fear, rather than the exasperation Fay had expected and felt herself. Lydia's voice shook slightly as she answered, "No. Tavis, you can't. You cannot come." She seemed to regain some control of herself and continued, "This isn't a tour or some other lark. It is a serious meeting."

Tavis stared at her in disbelief as they continued to prepare. Keari and Lydia hurried her out of the manor after pulling the hood up over her head low enough to hide her face and partially obscure her vision. Each of them kept a hand on her arm as they led her down the streets to the Imperial Palace that loomed at the heart of the Quarter. They guided her to a side door nearly hidden in a garden and up a narrow set of stairs. The floor of the stairway was coated with dust and the two sets of tracks she saw around, one small and one large, almost certainly belonged Keari and Lydia. Through a side door and onto a broad landing, Fay found herself in what she was certain was the private residential wing of the palace, open only to the Emperor, his family, and their guests. Keari's hand on her upper arm propelled her down the hallway too fast to see anything around her with the hood still in place. She and Lydia were nearly running to keep up with his long strides and she wondered what could have been in the letter to put him in such a rush. Finally they slowed down as they approached several guards standing around an intersection of three hallways, all oriented around a single door.

One of the guards stepped forward as Keari unwound the scarf to reveal himself. The guards all bowed low to him, and the one who had stepped forward, a captain if Fay remembered the insignia of rank correctly, spoke. "We were told to expect you, but I was asked to verify the ident.i.ty of any visitor, as a precaution."

Fay thought Keari would be angry at what amounted to a question of his word, but instead he turned to her and lifted the front of her hood just enough for the captain to look in from his still-bowed position. When the man nodded, Keari dropped the hood and guided her toward the door, which another guard opened for them. She heard Lydia follow them through it.

The room on the other side was a sitting room more richly appointed than any she had ever seen. Silk panels covered the walls along with paintings and statues. The seating was upholstered in fabrics so expensive her mind reeled. Even the tables were made of the glossy black wood threaded with white veins characteristic of the Asphor tree, one of the rarest and most costly materials she knew of. This room made her more aware of the wealth of the empire than she had ever been before.

Surrounded by this opulence, three men occupied the room. Fay could just barely see them under the rim of her hood. Near one of the long, slender windows, looking out, stood an older man, his hair streaked with gray. His clothes were ornate, as if he had just come from a formal audience. He looked around as the door closed behind her and she recognized the Emperor's younger half-brother, Prince Arovan. His face wore an expression of bored disinterest which did not change when he saw them, though his eyes snapped with curiosity when he took in her hooded state. Fay was certain she had seen him before, but she couldn't immediately recall where.

The second man could only be Keari's brother, Prince Orvios. He was in a chair to one side, and had paused in the act of carefully oiling a sword when they entered. She knew little of this prince, save that he was several years younger than Keari and favored martial prowess over intellectual pursuits. He was neither as tall as his brother, nor as handsome and seemed indifferent to the clothes he wore, which were rich but out of date. His face bore a scar along one side that narrowly missed his left eye. Those eyes hardened at the sight of Keari. He frowned at her but said nothing.

On the couch in the center of the room sat the ruler of the Rianzire Empire, Valteray of House Mykorro. A worn leather-bound book was open in his lap, but he was looking up at the three of them with the keen gaze she remembered from her previous encounter. He hardly seemed to have changed at all since then, and only the fine creases around his eyes showed evidence of the twenty years between his age and that of his eldest son. His hair was still full with hints of silver peaking through it in places as it fell well below his shoulders. A well-groomed goatee gave his serious face an air of wisdom. She had nearly forgotten the resemblance between the two of them, the same strong jaw, the same narrow nose and high forehead.

As they stood there, the Emperor turned to his younger son. "It seems today is a favored day for you, Orvios. You get to escape from this room early. You too, Arovan. I wish to speak with Keari and his guest privately."

Orvios' lips curled up at the corners for a second as he sheathed his sword and quickly left. Arovan stepped away from the window and bowed to his brother before leaving, though Fay thought she read reluctance in his posture. No one spoke until a few moments after the door had closed behind Arovan. Valteray said softly, "You may remove your disguise now, my dear."

Fay swept her hood back with both hands and dropped into a deep curtsey, remaining there, waiting. There was a creak and footsteps approached, then a slender hand that was almost the image of his son's raised her from her obeisance. As she straightened, she saw the Emperor staring into her face with a gentle smile that she doubted many had ever seen from him. She had always seen him display a stern manner in public. "My, how you have bloomed, Faylanna, more beautifully than any flower in all of my gardens. And yet I still see that young girl I met so many years ago. Please, sit."

His compliments overwhelmed her a bit as she moved to one of the vacant chairs facing the sofa to which he had returned. Still, she remained silent, waiting to hear why he had summoned her for so private and urgent an audience. Lydia took the other chair opposite the Emperor, while Keari crossed the room to stand behind his father. Valteray also remained silent, studying her for several minutes before finally laughing and saying, "Well, you have certainly learned the wisdom of patience since last we met. I expected you would ask immediately why you are here."

Fay smiled nervously. "I a.s.sumed you would tell me, your Majesty."

"And so I will." His tone became more formal, as he continued. "I received late yesterday a most unusual pet.i.tion from your father. I find it odd in many respects, not the least of which being that he is asking a favor of the throne after inexplicably missing his audience with me. I was displeased by that absence, as I had several questions for him. The opportunity to ask them was one of the reasons I granted the audience to begin with." He frowned as he took a folded letter from the table beside him and placed it in his lap. "Further, the request he makes is one for which I am aware of no precedent in all our history. Truthfully, I can find no reason for the request at all, now that I see you before me. In short, your father has requested that I suspend the normal independence due any graduated Magicia and return you to his protection and authority. Further, he has requested that you be found wherever you might be staying at present and delivered to him at Iondis, to remain there until you are properly married to a suitor of his choosing, at which time his authority over you would pa.s.s to that individual."

Shock at these words robbed her of her voice and she found it hard to even breathe. Her every freedom curtailed in such fashion was unthinkable. Slavery disguised by flowery words. She hardly heard Keari speaking to his father. She could take in nothing but this proposed horror.

Soft, warm hands clasped her suddenly ice cold ones, shaking them gently. Though aware of this, she found herself unable to respond. The hands moved to the sides of her face, gently pulling it around to stare into green eyes that calmed her with their beautiful familiarity. She focused and saw that Lydia was kneeling on the floor in front of her. Not the eyes she had thought, but someone who cared what became of her. She heard her name being spoken and Lydia's hands fell away from her face. Fay looked up to see concern in the faces of both father and son. Keari's long stride brought him around the sofa in seconds and he folded himself to be on her level at her side, one of his hands on her shoulder the moment he was there.

"It will not happen, Faylanna. I promise you," he said in a quiet, flinty voice. Turning to his father, he said, "You cannot mean to grant this... request."

Valteray continued to stare at Fay for a moment before answering. "Indeed, I do not. Faylanna, be at ease about that. In normal circ.u.mstances, I would not become involved, letting my brother decide the matter in his capacity as Minister of Justice instead. In this instance, though, I question his ability to be impartial. He is, to my mind, too close to Viscount Derrion. In fact, it was Arovan who conveyed to me your father's request for an audience and he made a great effort on your father's behalf to persuade me to grant it. I am also mindful of my son's interest in the matter. I have been aware for some time that he has acted to protect you, watching over you as your father should have done." Keari turned to his father in surprise. "I have said nothing to this point, Keari, because there was no need. I agree with your actions and the way you have conducted yourself in this matter. Calder's behavior has been most unsettling, and you have ever been discreet in this."

Fay began to calm down, the Emperor's words easing her worry, but something nagged at the corner of her mind. This pet.i.tion spoke of desperation, which seemed to fit her father's state when she had seen him in the Gardensia Memoria, but there was more. It had never been likely that the Emperor would interfere in such a heavy-handed fashion in the affairs of the Magicia, and her father would have known that. The fight the Emperor would have from the Council over such an action would never have been worth it, particularly on the behalf of a mere Viscount. Something about the situation didn't fit. She began to wonder if it was merely a diversion from some larger play her father might have been engaged in. Or perhaps someone else's play entirely, she thought, realizing for the first time since leaving Keari's manor that no presence lingered in her mind as before.

"Your Majesty, please, may I see the pet.i.tion?" she asked, trying to think of another alternative.

"Certainly." He held it out and Keari took it and placed it in her hands.

The moment she unfolded it, she knew she had been right. She read it through once, and then again to be sure of what she was seeing. "He didn't write this."

There was such a silence in the room that she looked up to see the Emperor staring at her, polite shock on his face as well as a faint skepticism. "How can you be sure, my dear?"

"For one thing, he doesn't write this way. These aren't the kind of words he uses, and it's too short. My father is a verbose writer. He has always loved the sound of his own voice and it translates into his writing. Given how important something like this would be, and how much he's asking for, there's no way that he could have written this letter in less than a few pages, and certainly not this, a single side of a single sheet. If you received a request from him for an audience, you've seen his writing. Even something as simple as that would have taken him at least a full sheet, probably both sides." Valteray nodded slowly, thoughtful. Fay continued, "It's also not his handwriting. He taught me to write, and it still shows to this day. We form certain letters the same way, like the letters s and g. I see those letters on this page, but none of them are drawn the way we write them."

The Emperor stood up and walked to a small writing desk tucked into a corner of the room. He returned with a sheet of paper, quill and ink pot. First, she considered what to write that would ill.u.s.trate her point, then dipped the quill. She quickly wrote 'The golden sun will never set on the glory of our empire,' and pa.s.sed it over to him without a word. He smiled when he read the words and then examined them closely. He held a hand out for the pet.i.tion and examined it also, holding it next to her parchment. He then resumed his seat on the sofa.