"Sha vel'mei, King Dorian." Ellysetta glanced at the queen, but Annoura pressed her lips into a tight line and turned her head to stare pointedly at the far wall. With determined graciousness, Ellysetta said, "Blessing of the Light upon you, Queen Annoura. I wish you and your family much joy." She touched her fingers to Rain's wrist.

Rain inclined his head. "We will take our leave of you now. I am sure there is much for you to discuss. Miora felah ti'vos."

Leaving the king and his wife to their privacy, the Fey departed. Ellysetta waited until the door of Annoura's suite closed behind them before saying, "Annoura is right, Rain. If we use our magic to get what we want, how are we any different from the Eld?"

Rain looked taken aback. "Nei, she isn't right at all," he answered quickly. "She's angry and out of sorts and looking for someone to blame. We Fey live by a strict code of honor precisely because we don't want to end up like the Eld. We don't use our magic to conquer and enslave as they do."

"And yet Fey think nothing of spinning Spirit to send mortals on their way, or hide amongst them undetected, or read their minds and emotions to better control them."

"We aren't using our magic to manipulate Celierians. We're using it to protect them."

She gave a humorless laugh. "Have you ever stopped to ask if they wanted that protection? Mortals aren't children, Rain. They may not live thousands of years or wield magic, but they still have a right to decide their own lives."

"And Fey do not lie, yet mortals do at will," he countered. "Does that make them evil because they use a talent we do not possess in order to manipulate and control us? Do not be foolish, Ellysetta. They are neither so innocent nor such victims as you are making them out to be." He regarded her with a mix of exasperation and concern. "I thought you'd gotten past your fear and distrust of magic, Ellysetta. I thought you had accepted it."

"I have, but that doesn't negate my concern about the ways magic can be misused."

"Aiyah, it can be misused, but do not forget all the many ways it can be used to help people as well. Such as the healing you just did. And the way you saved that boy Aartys's life in Orest."

Ellysetta's gaze fell to the floor. He was right, of course, but Queen Annoura's accusation had hit a nerve, and what Ellysetta had discovered about the queen's unborn child had only increased her guilt. "The child wields magic, Rain. A very strong gift, if I'm not mistaken.”

"Is that what this is about?" Her shei’tan didn't look as shocked or as worried as she was. "Ellysetta, King Dorian has magic, and so does the prince. They are descended from the vol Serranis line, after all."

"He possesses Azrahn," she clarified. "The queen couldn't have children, but my weave made her pregnant, and now she's carrying a child gifted in Azrahn."

"I doubt there is cause for alarm. You've seen Gaelen wield Azrahn. It stands to reason descendants of his sister's line might also possess at least some small degree of it."

She frowned. She couldn't believe he was taking this so calmly. "I don't think what I sensed was a low-level talent. It felt very strong to come from such a tiny baby."

"Rain is right to tell you not to be alarmed," Gaelen interjected, "Much as some Fey would like to believe otherwise, Azrahn is not inherently evil. It's just a Mystic, like Spirit. In fact, I believe many of our most magically gifted warriors also possess a strong talent in Azrahn. It's certainly the case among the dahl’reisen."

"Which may explain why they're dahl’reisen," Tajik muttered, ostensibly to Gil but loud enough for the rest of them to hear.

Gaelen narrowed his eyes at the red-haired Fire master. "And where do you think dahl’reisen come from, vel Sibboreh? You think they pop up like mush-balls in a fellroot bog? Nei, they were born Fey, which means more than a few Fey possess strong talent in Azrahn. Just because the chatok refuse to test for it doesn't mean it isn't there."

"Setah," Rain rumbled. "Dorian's lords will reconvene soon. Bel and Tajik, I want you to join us. There are no military minds I trust more than yours. With Gaelen's knowledge of the north, and yours of battle tactics, we can at least give these Celierians a fighting chance until the allies arrive. Call the warriors from Ellysetta's secondary quintet to replace you while you are away." He leveled a commanding eye on Ellysetta. "And you, shei'tani, stop worrying. Annoura's child is a miracle, not a monster. Training will teach him to control whatever gifts he has. You should go back to the suite and try to rest."

She gave him a wan smile. "I would be afraid to close my eyes without you there. I think I'll visit the other ladies who are ill, and offer healing. It's the least I can do," she added to forestall his objection, "since I am responsible for their condition." And it would give her the opportunity to see how many other children conceived through her weave also possessed Azrahn.

Rain didn't like it, but in the end Ellysetta had her way. He, Tajik, Bel, and Gaelen went to meet with Dorian's war council while Ellysetta and her lu’tan paid a call on the sick noblewomen.

Several of the ladies turned them away on the doorstep, but quite a few did not. For those who received her, Ellysetta spun healing weaves to calm their stomachs and did what she could to bolster the strength and health of the more elderly among them.