"—our daughter stabbed while under your protection?" Mama was saying. "A boy with a knife nearly killed her right beneath your nose?”

A small muscle flexed in Rain's jaw, but he stood silent as Ellie's mother continued her tirade. When she ran out of steam—even Mama couldn't rail for long against a man who simply stood there and accepted it in silence—Rain bowed. "The mother of my shei'tani is right to berate me. I was careless with your greatest treasure. My enemies knew I would not expect the attack to come from a child, and they used that to their advantage. I will not be so blind again”

"Your enemies?" Sol asked. "So you know who attacked Ellysetta? Did you find them?”

Rain shook his head. "Nei, Master Baristani, which means that henceforth, we must all be more vigilant. There will be no more games in the park. Ellysetta will leave your home only when she absolutely must, and only with a full complement of warriors in attendance. When I come for our courtship bells, we shall either remain here in your courtyard, or I will take her away from the city, someplace where my enemies cannot surprise me again.”

Lauriana started to object, but Sol gave her hand a warning squeeze. "You did warn us of the dangers that first night of the betrothal," he said, "but I must admit, I didn't take your warning as seriously as I do now. We will all be more cautious." He glanced at Ellie. "I suppose you'd like a little time alone with our daughter.”

Rain bowed again. "Beylah vo, Master Baristani. I would indeed. But elsewhere, if I may. Somewhere quiet, where the thoughts of so many do not beat at me as they do here”

"It's late," Sol said. "Please, don't keep her out more than a bell or two.”

"Agreed." Rain held out a hand to Ellysetta.

"Sol!" Lauriana protested. "But—”

"Shh, come inside, Laurie. If it were you who'd been stabbed, I'd want to have you to myself for a bit, to make sure you were safe and unharmed. Let them have their privacy." He put an arm around his wife's waist and led her into the kitchen. "We'll just sit here, sweetheart, and share a quiet cup of tea together until they come back."

They flew east past the lights of the city towards the rolling hills surrounding the moonlight-silvered waters of Great Bay and landed in a small hilltop glade overlooking the bay. There, Celieria City was little more than a distant glow of lights at their backs, and even that was hidden by the treetops. The silence was broken only by the rustle of the ocean breeze in the trees and the faint sound of waves rolling onto the sandy beaches below. Undimmed by the lights of the city, the stars overhead gleamed like diamonds strewn across a black velvet sky.

Magic tingled in the air as Rain wove protective shields around the glade. When he was done he turned to Ellysetta, his face solemn and beautiful, the glow of his Fey skin a shimmering aura. He regarded her in deep, searching silence, then pulled her into his arms and simply held her.

"You frightened me, today, shei'tani. A bit of poison on that blade, and I would have lost you." His arms tightened.

"But you didn't.”

"Nei, thank the gods, but I was careless with you. I won't be again—and I know that will be hard on you." He drew back to look into her eyes. "You need freedom to thrive, just as I do.”

"I'll manage." Somehow, she would. She'd sensed Rain's fear and guilt when she'd been stabbed, his terror at the prospect of losing her. She would not intentionally cause him such distress again. "How is Bel? Ravel told me he'd been chained in sel'dor.”

"He's fine. The effects of sel'dor are painful but not permanent. I told him to stay at the palace and rest tonight. He wasn't happy with me, but he'll be back tomorrow”

"I can't believe King Dorian allowed them to bind Bel in sel'dor." She'd read horrible accounts of what the evil Eld metal could do to Fey, how painful and debilitating it was. How could Dorian, who was part Fey himself, have authorized its use on Bel?

"Dorian said he didn't know about it. Marissya believes him." He released her and stepped back. "The Celierians who did it claim they were acting out of self-preservation. Bel stood accused of murdering a Celierian with magic, and they wanted to be sure he couldn't murder them as well. Though they wouldn't admit it, I think Annoura authorized their actions.”

Ellie's eyes closed briefly in shame. "Rain, I'm sorry.”

"For what? You are not to blame for the actions of your countrymen.”

"Maybe not, but if it weren't for me, Bel wouldn't have been accused of murder." She still wanted to weep for what he'd suffered. "Do you have any idea who was behind the attack?"

"We were meant to think dahl'reisen sponsored it."

"But you're not so sure?”

"Marissya didn't sense them, and dahl'reisen don't hire children to make their kills." His lips thinned. "The Eld aren't so discriminating. Using a child to attack you is just the sort of thing they'd do.”

"Did you find any proof it might have been the Eld?”

"Proof? The hard, irrefutable kind needed to convince your countrymen? Nei, for that we'd have to catch a Mage red-handed in the act of subverting a Celierian's mind or weaving Azrahn before a hundred witnesses." His mouth twisted in a grimly sardonic smile. "Unfortunately for us, they usually aren't so blatant. The Eld work in subtleties until they consolidate a base of power. They sow doubts, disagreements, suspicions, fears—the kinds of things that can be explained away. They play on mortal weakness and self- indulgence. And through those small, steady corruptions, they begin to claim souls.”