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Kaila’s eyes opened wider "Like a thunderhead given life, Your Majesty"

"Ierous, almost inhuman sound of her voice Perfect!

"I’d say so," the lanky Guardswoh the slippers do spoil the effect"

Elayne glanced down, cursing at the pink silk She wove so her slippered feet vanish The weave wouldin the air, wrapped in a pulsing shroud of darkness, cloak and straps of black cloth fluttering round her Her face was hidden completely in blackness As an added touch, she created two faintly glowing pricks of red where the eyes should be Like coals radiating with a deep criht preserve us," one of the Guards whispered

Elayne nodded to herself, her heart quickening in excite proain They were solid But there would be only one way to test them for certain

Elayne inverted her weaves and tied thehts," she said to them, "and remain perfectly still I will return shortly"

"But--" Kaila said

"That is an order, Guardswoman," Elayne said firmly "You had best obey it"

The woitte would never let this happen But Kaila was not Birgitte, thankfully She reluctantly gave the order and the lights in the room were doused

Elayne reached into her pocket and took out the foxhead medallion, the real one, and held it hidden and tucked in her hand She took a deep breath, then created a gateway The ribbon of light was bright in the blackened rooht It opened into a rooh and found herself in the Palace dungeons, in one of the cells A woman knelt on the far side of the cell, beside the sturdy door with a smallat the top, slotted with bars, that let in the only light in the dank cell There was a sht and a bucket for a chamber pot to her left The tiny room smelled of mold and hu of rats nearby It still seemed too lavish quarters for the woman in front of her

Elayne had chosen Chesmal with calculation The wo the Black, and she was powerful enough that most of the others would bow to her But she also had seeical, when Elayne had last encountered her That would be important

The tall, handsome woman spun as soon as Elayne entered the cell Elayne held her breath Blessedly, the act worked Chesmal threw herself to the straw-covered floor of the cell

"Great One," the woman hissed "I had--"

"Silence!" Elayne shouted, her voice boolanced to the side, as if waiting for the Guards outside to peek in There would be Kinswomen there to hold Chesmal’s shield; Elayne could feel the Elayne’s orders, odd though those orders were

"You are less than a rat," Elayne said with her disguised voice "You were sent to see to the Great Lord’s glory, but what have you done? Allowed yourself to be captured by these fools, these children?"