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He paused, then took it I am sorry, he wrote I do not wish to appear petulant

"Is it because I keep challenging your priests?"

No, he wrote You have interesting theories, but I think they are just guesses You do not know that the priests plan what you claim That doesn’t bother me

"What is it, then?"

He hesitated, then erased with the sleeve of his robe You do not believe that the Returned are divine

"I thought we already talked about this"

We did However, I realized now that this is the reason why you treat me as you do You are different because you do not believe in ?

And, if you do not believe, it od is who I am, it is what I am, and if you do not believe in it, it makes me think you do not understand me

He paused

Yes It does sound petulant I am sorry

She s down, but didn’t pull back as he had tiainst his arm

"I don’t have to believe in you to understand you," she said "I’d say that those people orship you are the ones who don’t understand They can’t get close to you, see who you really are They’re too focused on the aura and the divinity"

He didn’t respond

"And," she said, "I’m not different just because I don’t believe in you There are a lot of people in the palace who don’t believe Bluefingers, soirls ear brown, other scribes They serve you just as reverently as the priests I’m justwell, I’m an irreverent type I didn’t really listen to my father or the monks back home, either Maybe that’s what you need Soodhood and just get to know you"

He nodded slowly That is cood whose wife does not believe in hih to remember "Well," she said, "I should think it would do every ood to have a ho isn’t as in awe of him as everyone else is Somebody has to keep you humble"

Huodhood

"Like sweetness?" she asked

He chuckled Yes, just like that He put the board down Then, hesitantly--a little frightened--he put his ar her closer as they looked out theat the lights of a city that reht

BODIES FOUR OF THEM They all lay dead on the ground, blood an oddly dark color against the grass

It was the day after Vivenna’s visit to the D’Denir garden to ht streamed down, hot upon her head and neck as she stood with the rest of the gawking crowd The silent D’Denir waited in rows behind her, soldiers of stone ould never march Only they had seen the four men die

People chattered with hushed voices, waiting for the city guard to finish their inspection Denth had brought Vivenna quickly, before the bodies could be cleared He had done so at her request Now she wished she’d never asked

To her enhanced eyes, the colors of the blood on grass were powerfully distinct Red and green It made almost a violet in co an odd sense of disconnection Color So strange to see the colors of skin paled She could tell the difference--the intrinsic difference--between skin that was alive and skin that was dead

Dead skin was ten shades whiter than live skin It was caused by blood seeping down and out of the veins Almost likelike the blood was the color, drained out of its casks The paint of a hu the canvas blank

She looked away

"You see it?" Denth said, at her side

She nodded silently

"You asked about him Well, here’s what he does This is e’re so worried Look at those wounds"

She turned back In the growingshe’d missed before The skin directly around the sounds had been completely drained of color The wounds thee to them As if they had been infected with some terrible disease

She turned back to Denth

"Let’s go," Denth said, leading her away froan to order people back, annoyed by the nuawkers

"Who were they?" she asked quietly

Denth stared straight ahead "A gang of thieves Ones orked with"

"You think he ht come for us?"

"I’m not sure," Denth said "He could probably find us if he wanted I don’t know"

Tonk Fah approached across the green as they passed through the D’Denir statues "Jewels and Clod are on alert," Tonk Fah said "None of us see him anywhere"