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Her back complained, and she ruefully conteht The least they could do, she thought, is e stone palace, it got chilly despite the Hallandren tropical climate Particularly if one were naked

Focus on Bluefingers, she thought, trying to distract herself What did he s are not what they see and his ability to have her killed? She ell aware of the God King’s power How could she forget it, with hi froive this warning quietly, without others hearing Watch yourself

It sritted her teeth If she’d paid ht she have been able to pick out a ?

As if I needed soers had so to tell her, why hadn’t he just said it? As the minutes passed, his words turned over and over in her mind like a restless sleeper, but she was too uncomfortable and cold to co ured it out Vivenna probably would have known instinctively why the God King hadn’t chosen to sleep with her She would have fixed it the first night

But Siri was incompetent She tried so hard to do as Vivenna would have--to be the best wife she could, to serve Idris To be the woman that everyone expected her to be

But she wasn’t She couldn’t just keep doing this She felt trapped in the palace She couldn’t get the priests to do more than roll their eyes at her She couldn’t even te to bed her On top of that, she could very well be in danger, and she couldn’t even understand why or how

In simpler ter at her aching limbs, Siri sat up in the dark room and looked at the shadowy foret on with it?" she blurted out

Silence

Siri felt her hair bleach a terrible bone white as she realized what she’d just done She stiffened, casting her eyes doeariness fleeing in the face of sudden anxiety

What had she been thinking? The God King could call servants to execute her In fact, he didn’t even need that He could bring her own dress to life, Awakening it to strangle her He couldthe ceiling down on her, all withoutwith shallow anxiety, anticipating the fury and retribution Butnothing happened Minutes passed

Finally, Siri glanced up The God King hadher from his darkened chair beside the bed She could see his eyes reflecting the firelight She couldn’t ry He just seemed cold and distant

She al at hi at him wasn’t likely to either So she turned her chin up andfoolish Vivenna would never have provoked thethe probleht until her patience i of Hallandren

But Siri was not Vivenna She was just going to have to accept that fact

The God King continued to look at her, and Siri found herself blushing She’d knelt before hi hi Still, she didn’t back down She continued to kneel, watching hi herself to stay awake

It was difficult She was tired, and the position was actually less co, the hours passing

Eventually--at about the sa stood up Siri stiffened, shocked alert However, he simply walked to the door He tapped quietly, and it opened for hi on the other side He stepped out and the door closed

Siri waited tensely No soldiers came to arrest her; no priests came to chastise her Eventually, she just walked over to the bed and burrowed into its covers, savoring the warht drowsily, is decidedly less wrathful than reported

With that, she fell asleep

12

Eventually, Lightsong had to hear petitions

It was annoying, since the Wedding Jubilation wouldn’t even be over for another few days The people, however, needed their gods He knew he shouldn’t feel annoyed He’d gottenfete--copiously unattended by either the bride or grooh All he had to do was spend a few hours each day looking at art and listening to the woes of the people It wasn’t much Even if it did wear away at his sanity

He sighed, sitting back in his throne He wore an eold and red The garment wrapped over both shoulders, twisted about his body, and was hung with golden tassels Like all of his clothing, it was even more complicated to put on than it looked

If ht with a dressed