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they have to accept it? You're the king."
    "Now, see," Elend said, "that's what I'm trying to prove by all this. I'm just one man, Vin—maybe my opinion isn't better than theirs. If we all work on the proposal together, it will come out better than if one man had done it himself."
    Vin shook her head. "It will be too weak. No teeth. You should trust yourself more."
    "It's not about trust. It's about what's right. We spent a thousand years fighting off the Lord Ruler—if I do things the same way he did, then what will be the difference?"
    Vin turned and looked him in the eyes. "The Lord Ruler was an evil man. You're a good one. That's the difference."
    Elend smiled. "It's that easy for you, isn't it?"
    Vin nodded.
    Elend leaned up and kissed her again. "Well, some of us have to make things a little more complicated, so you'll have to humor us. Now, kindly remove yourself from my light so I can get back to work."
    She snorted, but stood up and rounded the desk, leaving behind a faint scent of perfume. Elend frowned. When'd she put that on ? Many of her motions were so quick that he missed them.
    Perfume—just another of the apparent contradictions that made up the woman who called herself Vin. She wouldn't have been wearing it out in the mists; she usually put it on just for him. Vin liked to be unobtrusive, but she loved wearing scents—and got annoyed at him if he didn't notice when she was trying out a new one. She seemed suspicious and paranoid, yet she trusted her friends with a dogmatic loyalty. She went out at night in black and gray, trying so hard to hide—but Elend had seen her at the balls a year ago, and she had looked natural in gowns and dresses.
    For some reason she had stopped wearing those. She hadn't ever explained why.
    Elend shook his head, turning back to his proposal. Next to Vin, politics seemed simplistic. She rested her arms on the desktop, watching him work, yawning.
    "You should get some rest," he said, dipping his pen again.
    Vin paused, then nodded. She removed her mistcloak, wrapped it around herself, then curled up on the rug beside his desk.
    Elend paused. "I didn't mean here , Vin," he said with amusement.
    "There's still a Mistborn out there somewhere," she said with a tired, muffled voice. "I'm not leaving you." She twisted in the cloak, and Elend caught a brief grimace of pain on her face. She was favoring her left side.
    She didn't often tell him the details of her fights. She didn't want to worry him. It didn't help.
    Elend pushed down his concern and forced himself to start reading again. He was almost finished—just a bit more and— A knock came at his door.
    Elend turned with frustration, wondering at this new interruption. Ham poked his head in the doorway a second later.
    "Ham?" Elend said. "You're still awake?"
    "Unfortunately," Ham said, stepping into the room.
    "Mardra is going to kill you for working late again," Elend said, setting down his pen. Complain though he might about some of Vin's quirks, at least she shared Elend's nocturnal habits.
    Ham just rolled his eyes at the comment. He still wore his standard vest and trousers. He'd agreed to be the captain of Elend's guard on a single condition: that he would never have to wear a uniform. Vin cracked an eye as Ham wandered into the room, then relaxed again.
    "Regardless," Elend said. "To what do I owe the visit?"
    "I thought you might want to know that we identified those assassins who tried to kill Vin."
    Elend nodded. "Probably men I know." Most Allomancers were noblemen, and he was familiar with all of those in Straff's retinue.
    "Actually, I doubt it," Ham said. "They were Westerners."
    Elend paused, frowning, and Vin perked up. "You're sure?"
    Ham nodded. "Makes it a bit unlikely that your father sent them—unless he's done some heavy recruiting in Fadrex City. They were of Houses Gardre and Conrad, mostly."
    Elend sat back. His father was based in Urteau, hereditary home of the Venture family. Fadrex was halfway