Mag-log inThe storm arrived swiftly from the western ridge, more swiftly than anyone had expected, and as Kaelan and Selene were on a normal inspection of the northern boundary markers which Cassius had asked them to carry out together—a task that Selene, it later transpired, had been given with a good deal more deliberate intent than he had admitted at the time—was caught a full hour before the pack house.Within a minute the rain had turned the path into mud, and Kaelan, with the experienced eye of a man who had grown up on this land, called off the ride before either of them had been completely soaked through.He shouted over the increasing wind, 'There's a hunting shelter half a mile to the east'; we won't get back here before it breaks up properly, so it's better to wait than to risk the horses on a flooded track in the dark.They rode hard through the increasing rain and by the time they reached the small stone shelter, which was situated against a rocky outcrop that had obviously provide
He visited her once more that week without being asked, and when he found her in the garden at dusk he sat down on the low stone wall beside her without asking for permission, simply acting as if he were a brother who no longer quite knew why he thought it his right to do so, except that he did.About her I mentioned today,' he said. 'Wren. In full, at last after three years. Not the official version. The true one.'"To whom?"It was Fenn, actually. After the drills we started discussing the subject and I found myself relating to him the incident when she broke her arm while falling out of the old oak tree by the creek, attempting to show that she could climb just as well as I could. I hadn't given that much thought in years. I don't know why it has now come back to me." He looked at her sideways. "I believe it's because of you. The fact that we've been talking about her seems to have loosened something in me and I'm constantly recalling things which I thought I had buried.Selene foc
Two days later he saw her in the little library. This time, instead of speaking to her with accusation, he used a weary and careful patience which had a more disturbing effect on her than his previous frustration had.I started to think," he said, and sat himself down in the chair opposite her without asking. "About what you said to me, namely that you knew Wren."Rhys—"Alright, I'll finish. He raised his hand, in a more gentle manner than earlier. He wasn't going to press you for the whole truth once more; he realised you weren't ready to give it. There's one thing he'd like to know and he thinks you can let him know that without breaking the promise which is keeping the rest of it hidden.What would you like to know?So, what was she like? I mean, actually like, not the official version nowadays—the one that describes her as brave Luna and all the rest of it. I'd like to know what you really remember about her, if you're prepared to tell me even that much.Selene thought about the
He deliberately selected the training yard since it was empty at that time, with no witnesses present and so that neither of them would have an easy excuse to leave before the conversation got to where it was heading."I have something to ask you," Rhys said when she saw him waiting there, having arranged by means of a servant that he wanted to have a talk about the delegation's security arrangements, a reason neither of them ever seriously believed once she had looked at his face. "And I need you to answer me properly this time. Not another word of evasion.""Alright."Why are you looking at me as if you know me? The words came out rougher than intended because after weeks of having half-formed suspicions they had finally managed to become direct. It's not curiosity on my part nor is it a polite interest since I'm a member of the pack you're visiting; sometimes you look at me as if I were someone you are grieving over. I have noticed this more than once now and I'm finished pretendin
Kaelan was the first to notice the change in himself. Nevertheless, he thought that on certain days Cassius saw much more than he admitted.Each room she walked into seemed altered. It wasn't louder, nor indeed brighter, but instead became reoriented, just as a compass needle does the moment it is released from whatever had been keeping it steady in the wrong direction. He found himself, without intending to, following her movements across the negotiating table, noting little things which weren't really within his place to observe, such as the way she pushed a strand of hair behind when she was concentrating, and the particular quiet she would adopt just before saying something she had carefully arranged.He had said that he would wait. He really meant it, and each day the significance of that meant more to him.One evening he found himself standing outside her door for the same reason as he had during that first week, before this situation had a name given to it. He
Selka was more difficult to find than either Corin or Petrus had been since she had moved two years earlier to a remote outpost on the southern edge of the pack, it being so far removed from the main area that it took an overnight journey which Selene had to carefully justify to the household as a diplomatic courtesy visit at the outlying trade posts.The outpost was small and quiet, consisting of a few cottages grouped round a modest trading post. Selka was working behind the counter of the post, older than Selene had anticipated and showing a kind of tiredness that was more than just due to her age."Emissary," Selka's greeting showed the carelessness typical of someone who is unused to having visitors of any diplomatic importance. "What has brought you all this way?"If you have a moment, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding something that took place some years ago.Selka's expression changed, her wariness taking over so quickly that Selene realised, before she had spoken







