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He could see clearly that the older apprentice intended to kill him. He was pretty sure that if Vaxoram succeeded, he’d be asked to leave the Harper Hall anyway—no one would tolerate a killer in their midst. Something else flickered in Vaxoram’s eyes, then he said, “He’s to be banished.” He gave Kindan a gloating look. “For lying.”
    “Very well,” M’tal said. “I’ve heard and witnessed both claims.” He turned to Vaxoram. “You are to report this to the Masterharper.” He glanced at Kindan and Nonala. “Selora told me that she sent you to the baths. Get going now.”
    Kindan nodded and, numbly, trotted over to the bath rooms. He was inside and peeling off his clothes before he heard the rustle of the curtain and felt Nonala enter beside him.
    The bath room was laid out with four large baths in the middle and a row of showers along each wall. When Kindan and the others bathed, by unspoken agreement they turned away from each other as they undressed and got into their baths, respecting each other’s privacy. They never spoke until they were safely in their baths, usually covered by bubbles. When they showered, they followed the same rules, keeping their eyes on the wall in front of them and being respectful.
    Now, however, Nonala spoke while she was disrobing. “I could have taken care of myself,” she told him, her anger barely masking her concern.
    He pointed to his mangled lips. “But could you have sung afterward?”
    She sloughed off the last of her clothes and hopped into her bath, churning up bubbles with both hands.
    “No,” she admitted after a moment.
    Kindan stepped into his own bath and sank down quickly into the water. The water was only warm, not hot enough to reach the cold that had settled deep into his bones. He heard a happy groan from Nonala and looked over at her.
    “It feels so good to stop shivering,” she told him.
    A moment later, two apprentices called from the outside of the room, “Can we come in? We’ve got coals.”
    “Come in,” Nonala told them.
    They hustled in and placed the coals under the baths, then scurried out again, one of them calling as he left, “Selora says she’ll have others up with hot water in a moment.”
    “Thank you!” Nonala and Kindan chorused. As the two apprentices hurried away, one whispered to the other in a voice that carried, “Did you see his face?”
    “I heard Vaxoram plans to kill him,” came the other’s reply.
    Nonala turned anxiously to look at Kindan, her eyes welling with tears.
    “No, he won’t,” Kindan declared.
    “Kindan…” Nonala began worriedly, only to be interrupted by another voice from the outside.
    “Are you decent?” It was Kelsa.
    “Come on in,” Nonala called. “You can steal some of my coals, the water’s not that warm yet.”
    “Selora said she’ll send someone up with hot water,” Kindan added as Kelsa pushed aside the curtains and entered the room.
    Shivering worse than Kindan and Nonala had, Kelsa had trouble undoing the fastenings on her clothes. It didn’t help that her eyes were locked on Kindan’s face.
    “Shards, Kindan, you’re a mess,” she declared as she peeled off her outer clothes, her eyes still locked on his.
    “And, uh,” Kindan said in embarrassment, “you’re not in your bath.”
    Kelsa glanced down and back up at him. “So?” she asked absently.
    “Kelsa!” Nonala growled. “You’re embarrassing him!”
    “I am?” Kelsa asked in surprise. She looked back to Kindan. “Well, I suppose if you’re going to let Vaxoram kill you—”
    “I’m not going to die,” Kindan declared. Kelsa smiled at his fierceness and rushed over to him, kneeled down beside him, and planted a swift kiss on his cheek before he could even flinch away.
    “Of course, you aren’t,” she agreed, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again. Huskily, she repeated, “Of course you aren’t.”
    Then, without another word, she sprang up, shucked off her