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he hadn’t had any Visions to compare with it. “Before or after I fall into the water?”
    “I don’t know,” she said. “He looked the same in all the Visions.”
    “Were there any more?”
    “No.” She sounded sad. “What does it mean, Daddy?”
    “I wish I knew, honey. It sounds like you’re describing Arianna’s brother Gift.”
    “The one who wanted to be a Shaman?”
    “Yes.”
    “But I thought a Shaman can’t be violent.”
    “You think he’s violent?”
    “He kills her. He kills you.”
    “But you never Saw him actually hurting us.”
    “Everything happens because of him.”
    Bridge froze. He’d heard that before, long ago, in his training as a Visionary and a Leader. That phrase was one to pay attention to. “How do you know that?” he asked. “Did anyone say that in your Visions? Did anyone imply it?”
    She shook her head. “I just know it. He’s the center of it all.”
    The center was different than being the cause. Rugad used to say that Jewel was a center, and Bridge was jealous of that. He hadn’t understood it until his sister died. Maybe not even until Rugad had died. For if Jewel had stayed on Nye as she was supposed to, the Black King would probably still be alive. Bridge certainly wouldn’t be sitting in this palace worrying about Arianna, who would never have been born.
    The entire fate of the Empire had turned around Jewel, as apparently, it would now do around her son.
    “That’s important, isn’t it, Daddy?” Lyndred said.
    For all her youth, she knew how important it was.
    “You weren’t hiding from Arianna because of the death Vision, were you? You were afraid it would come out that her brother is the center.”
    Lyndred’s eyes filled with tears. He kept a firm hold on her hands. A tear ran down her cheek and finally, he pulled her close. She was so tall now, so thin. His daughter had been just a tiny girl only an instant ago. Now he could barely hold her close, she was so lanky and strong.
    After a few moments, she sniffled and pulled away. “You think I’m silly.”
    He shook his head. “I’m not quite sure what the tears were, but no, I don’t think you’re silly.”
    She smiled just a little. All her life, he had said that to her, about not being sure about what caused her tears. Once he had confessed that he knew nothing of girls and it had startled a laugh out of her, a laugh he could sometimes get her to repeat.
    Lyndred swallowed so hard he could see her throat move. “What if,” she said, and took a breath, as if just forcing the words out would make something come true. “What if I tell her this, she decides she hates him, and that’s what causes all the blood?”
    It was a legitimate fear. That was the dilemma with Visions after all, trying to figure out when to tell, and when not to; when to heed them and when to ignore them. It was one of the most difficult things about being a Visionary.
    He thought for a moment. “There’s no hurry, is there?”
    “She’ll want to know what I’ve Seen. She asks me every day if I’ve had a Vision.”
    He started. That wasn’t normal. “Every day?”
    Lyndred nodded.
    “And that’s why you’re hiding?”
    Lyndred nodded again, then bit her lower lip. “So she’ll know, right? She’ll know why I’ve been hiding from her.”
    Arianna was smart. Of course she’d know. He ran a hand through his hair. “Not if you get real sick, sweetie.”
    “Why wouldn’t I call a Healer?”
    “Because you couldn’t?” He sighed. Lyndred was right. Arianna would see through that as well. He was never good at subterfuge. He ran a hand through his hair. “One thing at a time. Is there any other reason to tell her quickly?”
    “You haven’t heard the rumors?”
    He’d heard a lot of rumors. This place seemed to thrive on them. “Which ones?”
    “The ones that say Gift is coming back. They sent for him before we came.”
    He had forgotten. The Gull Rider who arrived on his ship had had a message for