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"You are free," he whispered

Hettie bent the hoop wider and unattached it frolea of nakedness on her ear was startling She touched her skin gingerly

Then she stared Paedrin in the eye "I will never lie to you again," she pro it down on the ground

His gaze narrowed "Someone just entered the alley behind us"

Hettie turned and saw the Preachán immediately He saw theo after hirabbed the front of his tunic "We don’t have enough time You said you needed to see Master Shivu to learn where the Shatalin temple is This er and he shook his head with frustration "How I despise it when you are right"

Paedrin had been raised in the city of Kenatos and he knew the streets and byways He wore the traditional tunic and sandals of a Bhikhu thatHettie would not seem that odd, since the Bhikhu were known for their charity and integrity and she looked lanced back at her for a fraction of a moment, unable to stop the pain in his heart every ti affection for her for some time He had buried it beneath the layers of his duty, but still felt it squir to break free It was her betrayal that had finally forced him to come to terms with how he truly felt about her When she was Tyrus’s abandoned niece, struggling against the odds to find a treasure to buy her freedom, she had been nearly irresistible to his sensibilities That she was Aeduan by race had caused hirown up amidst all the races in Kenatos, it was not that unusual She was beautiful in a natural way, not as the painted faces in the city in their expensive gowns And her Ros Now that she was unmasked as Kiranrao’s tool, the entire facade crus was as shattered as the Paracelsus Towers they had just left

But Paedrin was not as hasty as the city to begin rebuilding it straightaway

Despite his anger and resentenuinely seeain her standing What troubled him was the kind of character she had developed They were truly as different as chalk and cheese

But there was one thing he knew they could agree on Tyrus’s quest to banish the Plague was an effort they could unite on That needed to be the top focus and they could sort out the nuances of their relationship afterward Tyrus had charged him to find a lost relic--the Sword of Winds Master Shivu had uished in the Arch-Rike’s dungeon Now he understood that Tyrus had made a pact with Shivu to help restore the lost Shatalin te to face the dangers of the Scourgelands It had been subtle training, but always his s beyond the walls of the city As a child he had been encouraged to float up to the roof of the te the city

Defeating the Arch-Rike Ending the Plague Traveling the world It was everything that appealed to Paedrin When it was over, he was certain he would be allowed to live anywhere he chose A hero aht, re He could almost hear the old man’s words in his mind, so often he had heard them repeated A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man Beware of those desires

Paedrin had always been a one of the few Vaettir orphans in the city It was i it for the right reason, lest he becoade like Cruw Reon who had stolen the blade and brought on the downfall of the Shatalin temple

"There it is," Hettie said "How should we do this? Should we go in together?"

"The tes an inordinate amount of attention Let me float over the walls and see if I can find Master Shivu alone You watch for trouble and ring the bell if any comes"

"What information do you need fro," he answered "The Shatalin temple could be anywhere I did not even know it existed"