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Denth shook his head "There are no coincidences where thatyou, then you can bet on the Colors that he knows exactly who you are and where you ca to kill you"

Vivenna fell silent

Tonk Fah laid a hand on her shoulder "Ah, don’t worry, Vivenna He wants to kill us too At least you’re in good company"

20

For the first time in her several weeks at the palace, Siri stood before the God King’s door and felt neither worried nor tired

Bluefingers, oddly, wasn’t scribbling on his pad He watched her silently, expression unreadable

Siri almost smiled to herself Gone were the days when she’d had to lie on the floor, aardly trying to kneel while her back complained Gone were the days when she had to fall asleep on the marble, her discarded dress her only coh to cliht, comfortable and war

It was a nice arrange her wifely duty--left her alone She didn’t have to be naked in front of anyone, and she was beginning to learn the social dynaone to a few led with the Returned

"Vessel," Bluefingers said quietly

She turned toward hi an eyebrow

He shuffled unco respond to your advances, then?"

"That got out, did it?" she asked, looking back at the door Inside, her sers said, tapping his ledger from beneath "Only those in the palace know about any of this, of course"

Good, Siri thought She glanced to the side

Bluefingers did not look pleased

"What?" she asked "I’ about an heir" For a few et suspicious eventually

"Vessel," Bluefingers said with a harsh whisper "Doing your duty as the Vessel was the danger!"

She frowned, looking at Bluefingers as the little scribe tapped his board "Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods" he whispered to himself

"What?" she asked

"I shouldn’t say"

"Then what is the point of bringing it up in the first place! Honestly, Bluefingers, you’re getting frustrating Leavequestions--"

"No!" Bluefingers said sharply, then ihtly "Vessel, you must not speak to others ofto bother anyone else with Just"

"What?" she asked

"You ers said "That is the danger, both to yourself and to the God King hi here in the palaceit is not what it appears to be"

"That’s what everyone says," she snapped "If it’s not what it seems, then tell ers said "And I will not speak of this again After tonight, you will conduct yourself to the bedchah Just wait a hundred heartbeats or so after the wo roo!" Siri said

"Vessel," Bluefingers said, leaning in "I advise you to please keep your voice down You don’t kno many factions shift and move inside the palace I am a member of many of them, and a stray word on your part couldno, wouldmean my death Do you understand that? Can you understand that?"

She hesitated

"I should not be putting er because of you," he said "But there are things about this arrange Avoid giving the God King a child If you want to know more than that, read your histories Honestly, I would think that you’d have come to all this a little more prepared"

And with that, the little hed and pushed open the door and entered the God King’s cha--atched her, as always--and pulled off her dress, leaving her shift on She went to the bed and sat doaiting a few ,several different rhythled down in the blankets and lay back in the pillows to think Could Bluefingers have been any ht with frustration What little Siri knew of political intrigue told her that people preferred to be subtle--obscure, even--to protect themselves from implication

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