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The Heartwood
Talantal, the Grand Duchy of Talantal
Later, Midsummer's Day

Daxia, Dandelion Koromov, Kisa Allaine and Morning Star.

"So this is what a magnificent font of all wisdom looks like."

Kisa stood in the stables, arms quietly folded behind her, looking into the stall given over to the unicorn. It was large, the gate open, set with water, oats and empty.

Said unicorn was lounging in the wide aisle, maintaining a wary watch over the apple barrel.

The Allaine heiress had purposefully made a sure detour as they left the council hall, her excuse an easy and plausible one. It had the added benefit of passing them through the shelter of the Amber encampment - where few could follow - and allowing them a mote of privacy.

"I would offer him an apple, but that seems moot at this time.

"I would say he had better take very good care of his partner; because if he does not he can be assured I will bankrupt the Vale purchasing every single orchard between here and Talesan's Village."

She turned, to lean on a stable rail, reaching out to brush a white mare. For her it was a horse chosen at random. It just happened to be Dancer.

"You will be angry with me. I will speak to what I have found out, but you need to understand. Whoever broke the Allaine family into two distinct bloodlines did so with the specific intent of keeping them unknowing of each other.

"I am not the right one to ask.

"I'd start with you partner. And it will be difficult. If this witch was as good as I suspect she was - we have seen her hide at least one Imperial line - you may need to look not at what the immortal one knows - but at the holes in their oral history.

She let out a breath and stroked Dancer's neck, closing her eyes.

"As for the other.

"Have you ever played doublebluff against Dandelion?"

The scholar tilted her head and simply gave the Horde's leader a ... look. The Captain just shrugged her lithe shoulders and returned a small, innocent smile.

"You know in double bluff you can place a tile anywhere on the board as long as it is within a hand spread from another. Most players keep their tiles in ordered ranks, like two armies facing each other across open fields.

"Every now and then the Captain, here, she'll maneuver so she can set a single tile behind her opponents. Which is vexing. Sometimes it will be a useless piece, simple to draw your best pieces out of position. Sometimes it will be her strongest piece and you will then watch it tear your ranks apart."

She held up her hand.

"On the ride here, the Captain introduced me to the Horde's variant of doublebluff. They get a big table, everyone gets their own full hand of tiles, and you play not with two but four or five or six. This gets even more bloodthirsty when the players start making alliances with each other ...

"I discovered very early on if I could get everyone else to bicker amongst themselves, I had a better chance of having the strongest remaining hand late in the game."

She held her words.

"In a way, this is all your doing.

"For the first time in history, the Frontier Keeps and the Highland Keeps are not only not at each others throats, but are standing together.

"This is new.

"And when words gets out, the shaggy-in-the-middle-of-the-room is not going to be happy."

The young redhead managed a small smile, turning to look into Daxia's eyes.

"I am so jealous of you. You are out here. You can do good. The people you help you can see them, touch them, dance with them.

"My nights are haunted by the consequences of poking the sleeping tiger. What were the Velikii doing in Cragside? The only conclusion I can come to is chaos - they were trying to keep the Frontier Keeps and the Highland keeps destabilized.

"What will happen when Trundle-on-the-Hill learns that we are getting along?"

Dandelion Koromov, born and raised in that far off place, spoke.

"There are two major and four minor Imperial families in the Palace. Each can raise knights equal to Talantal, Dawnview and Kierkegaard."

Kisa slowly nodded. She then continued.

"Dorian Korie understands that when the balance of power shifts, those who were comfortable before no longer are. And he remembers that the last time Talantal faced Imperial troops, they lost.

"Consider this a game of doublebluff.

"Our one piece in play in that far away castle ...

"... you have managed to change from an Annoyance to a Power."

Daxia Yurisdotter

Daxia followed the Heir silently, though she hesitated as they made their way through the Amber encampment to simply marvel at all the colors. Upon reaching the stables, she rolled her eyes at Morning Star before walking to the barrel of apples and picking out two perfectly ripe red ones.

“You’re greedy,” she said to the unicorn.

She handed one of the apples to Kisa and nodded to the horse whose stall she leaned against. Daxia offered the second apple to Morning Star.

“His Magnificence isn’t fond of sharing when it comes to apples,” she said, looking at the unicorn rather than Kisa or Dandelion. “Mikal, Kadri and Bekkah aren’t quite as impressed with him as he believes they should be, so Talia, Lisica and Fern manage to get their fair share of apples. I suspect Romana leaves more apples for Morning Star than she gives Dancer there...”

The Dayalan grinned at her partner. No, he’d never consider Romana trustworthy or a friend, but it amused Dazi to see that his obsession with apples could momentarily allow him to ‘forget’ that it was an Easterner giving him those apples.

“...so I like to even things out every once in a while.”

Her smile disappeared, however, as she ran her fingers through the unicorn’s mane.

“He will do his best, Kisa. His partner can be rash and is something of a cobble block at times, but he will do his best. I know you said it in jest, but truly... there is no need to bankrupt the Vale. If harm comes to his partner, it will be her own fault, I’m sure. Besides, he thinks all the apples in the world are his anyway.”

Dazi’s fingers fisted in Morning Star’s mane when Kisa spoke again, but they relaxed almost immediately. She stared at the horsemark on his neck, those same fingers moving to lightly circle the meticulously painted double stars.

“I don’t care about who did what, how long ago she did it, or why. For once I don’t want to consider politics or the fate of the world.” She spoke softly, barely above a whisper, and her voice sounded distant and flat.

“I want... well, I suppose most of what I want is probably ridiculous. Pointless. Arbitrary. But I would like to know why an Eye of Hastur — whose specialty is names, particularly the naming of people — would call me a liar when I told him my name.”

She narrowed her eyes at the black destrier, then rapped him on the shoulder with a fist.

“You know.”

Dazi looked quizzically between her friend and her Temple Sister.

“I barely had time for a single training session with Barris before...” She closed her eyes, shook her head and sighed. “Before somebody killed somebody else, causing a group of somebodies to do some creative inventory management, eliciting a precipitous departure from Cragside by a random group of individuals.” She opened her eyes and looked at Dandy. “I was very unhappy that I didn’t get a chance to gather more bruises from your Second. He’s a very good teacher.”

The Starrider listened to the Heir’s explanation, nearly interrupting when Kisa mentioned her jealousy, but just shook her head and let Kisa continue. Her eyebrows drew together, though she nodded at Dandy’s assessment of the situation in Trundle.

Finally, she looked at Kisa, confused and frustrated.

“But...” Strong fingers ran through strands of hair that probably should be hacked off again as Daxia gave every impression of simultaneously trying to hold her skull together and pull all her hair out.

“But I was only trying to do what you told me to do!

“How was I supposed to know I was doing my job too well?! This is not my fault! No. You’re the one who sees the Paths better than anyone else I know,” she said, jabbing a finger in the air in Kisa’s direction. “You didn’t see this? Oh, wait, I was supposed to find a Window, right?”

She looked at Dandy. “Sure, and I had to find your little sister who probably is Window, but she was too busy being all self-absorbed and moody.” Daxia paused for a breath. “Fine. I can’t blame her for that. She did get kicked in the head, in a way. And I can’t blame her for wanting to stay in Bordertown either. She can do good there, and Garrick is a good man.”

Looking back at Kisa again, she asked incredulously, “And you’re jealous of me? Dearest Lady above, are you crazy? People try to kill me! I get drenched in blood and demon goo! CRAZY PEOPLE try to kill me! The world outside the Vale makes no sense! And you’re jealous.

“Oh, Kisa, what I wouldn’t give sometimes to spend a year or two locked in a tower with nothing but books for company!”

She shook her head and leaned against Morning Star’s shoulder.

“I guess the next orchard over is always more bountiful.”

She took a deep breath, then pursed her lips as she looked at Kisa.

“And your ancestor — or our common ancestor, perhaps — is considerably closer than you assume. This one...” Dazi tilted her head enough to rest it on Morning Star’s neck for a moment. “...said that the Snowqueen bought time so the First Witch could follow... that the First Witch saw the collapse of the Family Allaine... that the Second Witch...” She paused to glance at Dandelion before addressing Kisa again. “...the Second Witch saw the collapse of the Temple.

“Dherrick Bankorpool arrived at Talesan’s Village not so very long after the end of the last war with the East... during the first generation of this age. He was soundly defeated by the combined army of the mainland led by the clever and no doubt charismatic Andwise of Talantal. Whether he was sent back to the Archipelago in disgrace or whether he died on the docks of Talesan’s Village seems to be a matter of opinion, depending on which story is told and who is doing the telling.

“It’s of no real import at this point, however. His son returned, about four handful of years after Andwise had died. There was no one quite as clever, and no one as charismatic to lead an army against Lhannon Bankorpool.

“He came during the second generation of this age.

“The Snowqueen was the Khorall of Allaine, the guardian of Dawnview Vale, when she closed Snowgate Pass to the outside world, and to the Empire. She bought time — as all Dayalans eventually must do — for the First Witch.

“It was not until after the Snowqueen’s death — nearly a generation after Lhannon Bankorpool was victorious at the Battle of Skaefla Pass — that Dawnview and the Noble Family Allaine swore fealty to the Empire.

“The third generation of this age. The third, Kisa. Of... this... age.

“Our mothers and Kassia Dariansdotter, the Second Witch of Dawnview, are of the sixth generation. We are the seventh.”

Daxia shook her head.

“No, maybe you aren’t the right one to ask. Maybe I need to speak with your mother, or even Kassia. She knows things she wasn’t about to share with a cobble block of an Initiate, though I can’t say she’d be any more willing to share those things with a Starrider who’s only a cobble block half the time. However, the lineage of the Noble Family Allaine and the myriad cousin families is not the focus of my inquiry.

“But Kisa... no daughter of Dawnview could go back to hide an Imperial line. We are followers of Dayala, She who created Time with Her first rising and setting, She who pulled Order from Chaos. If families and their gifts were tucked away in odd places around the mainland — during the First Age, after the Forgotten Fleet had sailed, or even in the Second Age — it was no recent ancestor. And given what I have seen...”

Blue eyes shifted back toward the courtyard... toward the Amberites. Daxia nodded in their direction.

“I would say their ancestors had as much to do with it as ours.

“But not any of that matters right in this moment. Family lines split, and sometimes it’s for no more profound reason than one sibling thoroughly disliking another sibling.” Dazi waved a hand in the general direction of the Kories’ home. “Take the Heir of Korie and his young brother, for instance. Yes, some of our ancestors — from all the Noble Families, I don’t doubt — were clever enough to see how things might turn out for their family in various situations. And maybe the Allaines have always been better at it than most.

“The Snowqueen was your great great grandmother — or aunt... I don’t know your family history. Does it matter how she was related to me? Not particularly. Not right now, anyway.

“You know your mother. I barely remember mine. Do you want to talk about jealousy? You can go home and ask your mother about her mother. All I have is a name for my grandmother... and that might be a fabrication.

“I brought you a gift today, when I told everything I knew about Innocence Allaine. Yes, the gift is like a sword, for the truth of your aunt’s life and death can cut deeply. But I gave you the gift of a cousin, too.”

The common born redhead looked at the Noble born Heir, blue eyes looking into green. Those blue eyes seemed to be pleading with Kisa.

“Use your heart, Kisa, and forget for a moment you are Heir to one of the most powerful Families on the mainland. You told me long ago that you knew your mother loved you. To me, that was obvious. I learned to see that kind of love before I knew what it was. It’s what I remember of my father. It’s what I remember of my mother. My sister is made of the stuff, and I have a theory that Lady Attera most favors Her followers who have the greatest capacity for love.

“My heart wants to know who my family is, including cousins I don’t know. It completely overrules my mind that is interested in know where the Allaine family split, and why. My heart simply does not care.”

Daxia turned her head to look at Dandelion. “You know, you understand. You’re one of the few people who mask their emotions so well that you’re practically a newly whitewashed wall. But when you saw Camelia for the first time, and realized what that meant...”

A smile flickered across the younger Dayalan’s features.

“You know.”

Then Dazi lightly poked Morning Star in the ribs with an elbow.

“And you, O Most Enigmatic and Unforthcoming One... I want to know what you know about my family, in words so plain and simple as to be understood even by a cobble block such as myself.

“Why don’t you start with why that delightful Lord Random seemed so convinced that I am not Daxia daughter of Eelia and Yuri, said Yuri who was a daughter of Tasha... hmmm? You can move backwards from there. And sideways and future-wise, too.”

The Heartwood
Talantal, the Grand Duchy of Talantal
Later, Midsummer's Day

Daxia, Dandelion Koromov, Kisa Allaine and Morning Star.

Kisa Allaine took a step forward, to take the apple. For a moment she looked confused, just a bit, as she offered it to the white horse. She then looked opening her mouth as if about to speak.

Dandelion Koromov, in her quiet farm girl manner, raised her hand and answered first.

"Lord Random? I can answer that. It's because Lord Random is an idiot."

Dandelion offered Daxia a wicked smile.

"He is an Imperial Priest, and he is an old Imperial Priest. If something or someone does not fit into one of his little flower pots, it must be they who are wrong and not his perfectly ordered pots of holding things.

"Rafe has the same problem. He refuses to see a Deynnekko and calls Rafe a Koromov. Which, only as of this morning, was true. But even if Rafe was to forsake his Mother's family, his children will be legitimate Koromov heirs.

"Which is probably why Erika sent him to me, to keep him safe and beyond Velikii's long talons.

"You need proof? Forget Barris.

"Spar with Rafe.

"You will lose."

The Koromov settled back into her inscrutable silence.

Which lasted for a long long set of heartbeats. Finally, however, that heavy stillness was interrupted.

"Your family?"

Kisa just tilted her head, taking slow and unsure steps to the worn and tired starrider.

She paused, emerald eyes meeting sapphire. Looking up. Taking a breath. Trying to be very, very brave.

She then hopped, throwing herself forward, wrapping her arms around Daxia, about her neck, drawing herself close, burying herself to her dearest friend's shoulder, nuzzling into the crook of her neck, hugging so tight and as if her life depended on it.

"You're family."

Daxia Yurisdotter

The look Morning Star received from his Starrider was a bizarre mixture of exasperation, thoughtfulness, and ire.

“Have I mentioned you’re not as clever and helpful as you think you are? No? I’ll have to mention it more often. Brat.”

Daxia turned and stared at the Koromov for long heartbeats, thoughts obviously swirling behind narrowed blue eyes, before she shook her head and threw her hands up.

“By the Goddess, you Imperials are even crazier than the Nobles!

“And of course I’d lose to Rafe! I watched you and he spar, remember? Either one of you could knock me on my back faster than I could say my own name.”

Then Daxia grinned in an almost feral way at her elder.

“But I’d just get right back up again... and again... and again... until he knocked me down enough times that I knew I’d learned something.

“And then I’d get up one more time to thank him for the privilege of being beaten black and blue by one of the best swordsmen on the mainland.”

She paused, blinked, then smiled with joy. “Gosh, that sounds like almost as much fun as dancing! Where is he? Let’s go find him!”

Her excitement was interrupted by Kisa. In the moment it took the Heir to move from one side of the aisle to the other, to cling tightly — so tightly — to Dazi, the Dayalan had the feeling that she was being stalked and then attacked by a... a kitten.

A scared kitten.

Wrapping her arms around Kisa, resting a cheek against soft red hair, Dazi took a deep breath.

“Okay.”

She was glad to have the strength and stamina of a swordswoman, because scared kittens dig in deep and hold on for their very lives... as do young bookish Heirs wholly out of their element.

Looking a bit on the bewildered side herself, she said to Dandy, “Um, maybe you or Rafe can beat the snot out of me tomorrow.”

Arms tightening a bit in a hug, she whispered to Kisa, “I love you, too. Do you want to go find Bekkah and dance our cares away?”

Daxia Yurisdotter

Daxia chuckled at Dandy’s comment. “There are quite a few Knights here, and I don’t doubt that more are easy bait than difficult bait. Morning Star had quite a good time playing with the Squires in their shiny armor while we stayed at one of the Inns outside the city.”

She and Kisa walked on ahead, although Dazi was more attentive to their surroundings than she ever was in Dawnview. Naturally. Even though it was Midsummers, she and Kisa were two young women walking the streets unaccompanied by men. Not that Daxia couldn’t take care of herself... not that Daxia couldn’t protect Kisa, even from unwanted attention — the Starrider could be polite and diplomatic when necessary — and even though the two of them were clearly a Noble and a Dayalan... it was still Midsummers. It was good to have Dandy at their backs... just in case.

Especially since she was really more interested in hearing what Kisa had to say than watching for overly solicitous and intoxicated residents of Talantal.

She looked back at Kisa, a small measure of doubt on her features. “And yet she loves you. No, not as demonstrably as some folk do, that’s certain.

“And I understand that you and your mother have a different relationship now. You are an adult. You are the Heir.” She smiled sadly. “I might have been spending so much time with Bekkah that some of her sensibilities seeped into my view of the world, but at least with her, being related and being family are one and the same.

“And having only Bekkah as family... well, yes. I suppose I have made my own family. Gilly has always been more than just a teacher. As emotionally distant as she was... well, sometimes I do think of Kassia as almost a mother. I think of my companions as family, too, and sometimes we even bicker like siblings. And then you...”

Her smile was radiant. “You are my family and my heart. I don’t want to even consider how much less bright this world would be without this kinship we share.”

She nodded at the names Kisa reeled off that created a connection from her father’s family. Yes, she might still have distant kin around Sapphire Lake. Oddly, just knowing that... the fact that the tree of her family had roots and branches... was a comfort. Although one name struck a nerve.

“Rurik is probably not a particularly rare name, but...” She shook her head and sighed. “Romana says our names are too short. Her name for me? Very long... rather descriptive... and, likely to most, in part quite unkind.” She shrugged and smiled at Kisa. “But it’s... nice. Melodic.

“There is as much mystery contained in this wealth of information you’ve shared as in anything else I’ve encountered; and perhaps even more. My father — Eelia Darksmith — as his name would suggest was a darksteel swordsmith. That much I knew. Does it seem as odd to you as it does to me that a swordsmith would go on walkabout like that, and to Glacier of all places?” Tilting her head in thought, it was a few paces before she continued. “I don’t suppose there’s a vein of darksteel out near Glacier. At least that would make sense for traveling out there.

“If he paid his taxes in snowcat pelts... well, perhaps that is how he met my mother, da? Rolf Darksson was a hunter... perhaps he taught his daughter Yuri how to hunt. Or Tasha Starwatcher... perhaps she taught her daughter Yuri how to watch the stars if she was not a hunter.”

A surprised look spread over her face. “That could explain why Kassia was always so cross with me when I balked at drawing out the constellations. I was still so little, and hated doing it. I could see all the stars in my head... why should I need to draw them out, especially with my eyes closed?” Dazi chuckled. “There was always a reason for her lessons, although that particular one only makes sense if she knew I was being truthful about seeing the constellations in my head and not just trying to evade lessons.”

It was going to take some time to work out an understanding of the Glacier folk, and those who lived in the Jambles.

“This new Starwatcher Akane...” She looked with amusement at Kisa, before darting to the side, pulling Kisa with her, as an extremely inebriated reveler nearly half stumbled, half staggered into them as he called for his mates to wait for him. Dazi just shook her head as she tucked her arm through Kisa’s.

“Feisty lass with red hair and green eyes is how the young initiate of Poppy is described. I’m beginning to think ‘feisty’ is simply another way to say ‘red haired’.

“A granddaughter of Tasha, then, she is. Did Tasha have other daughters?” The Dayalan shook her head. “She must have, unless this Akane is even older than Bekkah... who will deny being a lass, and insist that she’s an old maid.” Daxia rolled her eyes. “So perhaps we do have a cousin, after all.

“Oh, now see what you’ve done, Kisa? You’ve piqued my curiosity altogether too much. I’ve never been to Glacier. Perhaps I should go!”

It wasn’t clear if Daxia was teasing... or if she was stubbornly serious about visiting Glacier. She remained silent for some time as they made their way through the ringed city.

“All of this does make me wonder about so much,” she said finally. “Morning Star said that very little is known of the Stormqueen, and it seems unicorns are not the only ones lacking knowledge. Despite what she did, wouldn’t someone have remembered more about her? Does anyone even remember her name? Although... well, I can almost imagine what her troops were thinking at the very end as she brought the walls of the Pass down upon them. The song doesn’t tell the whole story,” she said quietly, remembering a night not so very long ago. She purposely shook herself free of the memories, and took a deep breath.

“So, anyway, the Snowqueen did have a younger sister, whose name was also Yuri and partnered with the Immortal Ironhooves.”

Did the Snowqueen send even her own sister to her death that day? Daxia wondered.

“Morning Star said all things come thing threes, though I have to wonder if it is simply the things we notice... or if some things are singular, or even greatly multiplied. If the Stormqueen was one of these... nightyenska? Well, that would explain why little might be known of her. But His Magnificence wondered if there might have been a third sister. Perhaps this third sister might be your ancestor.”

She shrugged. “Your mother and her two sisters, there you have three... yet you have only Elani.” Dazi sighed and looked sidelong at Kisa. “And now you’ll tell me you had another sister who died in infancy... or you have a brother that no one speaks of because, well, he’s just a boy.”

Dazi did spot a minstrel entertaining a group of people as they passed them by. ‘Entertaining’ might have been too kind a word. The lad would have been better off simply speaking whatever tale he was trying to sing.

“It’s so very peculiar, Kisa. You’re right about families being... well, not easy to understand. But...” Her eyebrows drew together and her mouth twisted in a partial grimace.

“I can’t help thinking that knowing the tiny histories of families is like knowing the greater history of the world. We learn from history, da? We understand why this is this way, and that is that way... because that is a consequence of that thing that happened or this thing that happened.

“Like your tax rolls... you can look at them and understand so much more than I ever will.” Her features relaxed, and she smiled. “But you’ve taught me enough that I understand, a bit, how to see all the connections that see so obvious to you.

“On the other hand, I looked at history... until recently, no one knew what happened at the Temple on the Border, no one knew what happened at the Battle of Silk Creek Bridge. And yet this Age was shaped by what happened then.

“I suppose it’s just another strategy for playing Doublebluff.”

The Dayalan was quiet again as they walked, simply enjoying one another’s company and the celebrations of the day.

“Knowing that distant cousins from my father’s branch of this tree still live out near Sapphire Lake does not change who I am. But I feel... more connected? More grounded? I’m not sure quite how to put it. Perhaps it’s just a difference in the depth of a shadow.

“Knowing that my mother may have come from Glacier way...” Again, the young woman shrugged. “Am I am who I am... am I the one who remembers almost everything, the fierce Starrider, student of Kassia, partner to Morning Star, friend of Kisa... in part because I am Yuri’s daughter, who was Tasha Starwatcher’s daughter?

“Oh, listen to me, Kisa!” she said with a laugh. “It’s Midsummers, and I’m still trying to learn everything there is to know about... well, everything!”

She squeezed Kisa’s arm as they walked by another group of people laughing, singing and dancing on this bright day.

“Did I tell you about the fantastical idea I had for that far-off day when you have no more tasks I need to perform to save the world?” she asked, grinning broadly.

The Heartwood
Talantal, the Grand Duchy of Talantal
Later, Midsummer's Day

Daxia and Kisa Allaine.

The two Vale ladies continued their walk down Talantal's main thoroughfare. Her head dropped, however, at a certain turn in the conversation.

"Yuri."

It was a whisper.

"I suspect. I suspect that there was a young heiress, who grew up with her family, in the snow, with ruffs and horses and snow forts and spring wildflowers.

"We both know everything happens for a reason. Cause and effect are the milestones of the paths we see.

"What sort of cause would it take, to take a happy young woman, and make her a Snowqueen?"

She tucked herself closer to her companion.

"I do not believe it was a coincidence mother sent me to you, even if it took you several tries to see the stars in my tiles.

"Your cousin might not approve.

"And no, no darksteel out in Glacier. But then, no Ironsilver either. It's shipped in from the Road East and Kierkegaard. Darksteel, that is. A darksteel smith, however, would find commissions in all three of our keeps.

"Your name is a melody in Eastern?

"I should learn Eastern.

"One cannot know someone else, truly, unless you can talk to them in their own tongue.

"See, I like learning everything too."

Daxia Yurisdotter

She considered Kisa’s remarks, pondered them well. But ultimately, she had to admit her friend was nearly as enigmatic as a unicorn. Well, a black unicorn. Perhaps just a specific black unicorn.

“An heiress without a name now, and only a title? Hardship and hard decisions, profound choices... seeing, knowing that the good of the many demanded the sacrifice of the few. Or of one in particular.”

Daxia looked at Kisa, an eyebrow raised. “Knowing her sister was part of the troop holding the Pass... you think that sealed her fate?” She nodded slowly. “I think that could be... well, I won’t say ‘true’ because sometimes I’m not sure just what ‘truth’ is anymore. But it makes sense.”

Her heart thudded loudly to her own ears as Kisa moved even closer as they walked. Love and fear warred in her heart.

“Of course it wasn’t a coincidence, Kisa. We don’t believe in them, remember?

“She made a decision. She can see well enough, I think, what your Path would have been had Kassia’s student not been... stubborn? I guess I’d call it that. It well may be that Yuri said the same thing to her sister that I said to you... the same thing I will repeat every time you have doubts about these tasks you ask me to do for you. I serve Dayala, and do her bidding first and foremost. It is then my duty to serve the Noble Family Allaine...”

Daxia’s words cut off and she very nearly took a misstep.

“You know, I’m not entirely certain that is my duty as a Wild Dayalan. I believe... perhaps... that my duty is to do the greatest good I can for all of the mainland. Given who you are, given who I am... it likely amounts to the same thing, though.” She sighed. “Oh, just give up the notion that you would — in any way — be responsible for my death, should I happen to die, which I have no plans to do for a very, very long time. I have delusions of grandeur, after all.”

Hugging Kisa closer, she whispered, “And even should I be watching down on you as a star in the sky, I will still love you. Keep your heart warm with that, Kisa’shka; life is too short to let ice grow in your veins. Promise me.”

A hard swallow, quick blinking of eyes, and a breath held to be released slowly were followed by a nod.

“Yes. There wouldn’t be ironsilver there... unless the Starwatch Reaches are lost somewhere beyond Glacier. Even then... well, if the temple there was known...”

She sighed.

“No, just because those in our temple might know such things, that’s no reason to think it’s something an Initiate should know. I didn’t know the temple outside Bordertown existed, but Captain Koromov surely knew. Even Gilly and Poppy, who would have to pass by there on their way to the Vale, would have recognized the outline of the building, buried though it is.”

Dazi bit her lip, shaking her head yet again.

“Kassia threw things at Dandy when she was required to go to the temple, so Dandy said when we first met. I have a feeling I should practice ducking. Kassia isn’t the only Priestess fond of chucking things at people.

“And of the many things in which my cousin might potentially find disapproval, does my friendship with you strike you as the most vexing? Or is it the fact that I am a Starrider? Mayhap something different altogether?” She looked sidelong at Kisa with a sly smile. “If I’m going to visit unknown family — and I don’t doubt that someday I will — I would like to be at my best when meeting them. If I am likely to be a vexation, then I must be worthy of vexation, don’t you think?”

Daxi laughed at Kisa’s exuberance for learning. The two of them could not be more different in some ways, and yet in others they were as two peas tucked together in a pod.

“If you are going to learn Eastern, then I feel it my duty to learn it... learn more of it... as well. There are some similarities to Ancient, something I would never mention to the Priestesses. Well... perhaps to Kassia, who would call me a cobble block for pointing out something so obvious.

“Dazidazidazi’al’khasten’daylna’khorran... this is what Romana says is my name. It means Dazi, one who must be looked up to, Warrior of Lady Dayala the Traitor. It, ah, took a bit of coaxing to get the last part from her.”

Dazi rolled her eyes as if to say, as if she was reluctant to tell me something I didn’t already know.