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don’t know how these things work. But believe me, this is for the best. You will see.”
    “I already see. You’re right about one thing. I have been too trusting. You couldn’t have taught me that better if you’d wanted to.” The quaking inside was spreading outward. However pure Sodur’s motives might have been, an enduring chasm had opened between them, and she felt like she might shatter from the loss. “I guess this is why the ahalad-kaaslane aren’t supposed to get too close to anyone, not even each other,” Reisil said bitterly. “It makes it much easier to betray your friends. But what if you are wrong? Have you thought about that? What if you’ve only made things worse?”
    She didn’t wait to hear any more, but turned and strode up the street, the bobbing weight of Saljane heavy on her shoulder. She reached out again to touch the bond between them. Despite her fury at being manipulated, deep down, Reisil couldn’t help but wonder if Sodur really was right.
    ~He thinks if I gain control of my magic, then everything will be fine. But it won’t bring the Lady back. It won’t make the nobles any less greedy for power. It won’t protect the ahalad-kaaslane.
    But that wasn’t really the problem. It wasn’t the source of the pain screwing through her in slow turns.
    ~He told them to shun me, all the time smiling and holding my hand and telling me they’d come around. He watched to be sure his plan worked, fanning the flames whenever someone might have reached out to me. It’s Kaval all over again. I was so in love with him, I couldn’t see that he was a traitor, that he’d even think of raping and torturing a woman. How can I still be so gullible? Sodur’s right: If I were a proper ahalad-kaaslane, I would have known better. I never would have depended on him so much. All along he’s been playing his game and I’ve been too blind to even notice it was a game.
    ~He does as he believes necessary.
    But Saljane’s mindvoice was flat, chill and unforgiving. Her talons tightened on Reisil’s shoulder.
    ~Is he right?
    Saljane was silent so long that Reisil didn’t think she was going to answer. When she did, it seemed as if she’d changed the subject.
    ~Blessed Amiya does not require such sacrifice of the ahalad-kaaslane. The tradition is human.
    ~What?
    ~It is simpler to have no ties than to have to choose the Lady over someone you care about, as sooner or later every
    ahalad-kaaslane must. But it is not the Lady’s law to be alone .
    Reisil’s head reeled, and she stumbled, glancing up incredulously to meet Saljane’s carnelian eye.
    ~How can that be? Everyone knows it. All the ahalad-kaaslane believe it.
    ~Everyone knows many things that are not true, was Saljane’s terse answer. Just because it is what you do does not mean the Lady decrees it.
    ~Who does?
    ~You do. The human ahalad-kaaslane.
    ~But the animals know better? Why not tell us?
    Reisil got the sense of a mental shrug, not dismissive, but frustrated. ~I did not think it would help.
    Reisil didn’t reply, her thoughts chasing one another. She didn’t have to guard herself against friendship, against taking lovers. Not that she had any prospects of either, except perhaps Juhrnus. He would have her in his bed, she knew, but the idea only made her want to giggle like an eight-year-old. But she wasn’t prohibited . It wasn’t the Lady’s law. And no one else knew it.
    She hugged the knowledge to herself. A secret of her own. Not earth-rending. It wasn’t going to save or destroy anybody’s life. Still it made her feel independent, as if she’d taken her first step out of Sodur’s shadow.
    ~Sodur isn’t right, she said slowly to Saljane, answering her own question. This isn’t going to work. It won’t stop with being suspicious of me. The ahalad-kaaslane will stop trusting one another, and the court will take advantage of our weakness. Sodur wants to make it look like I’m no threat, like the ahalad-kaaslane are no threat,