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He smiled. Ayla, you know where my weakness lies. For my pride s sake, you will go and see Cedric.
At the Palace, the stares of the Court members were open and disbelieving as Ayla walked the halls
beside Garret. The whispered gossip was not so much whispered as hissed so it could be heard as they
walked past:
I never thought Mabb would allow it!
To think, he could have had anyone, and he pickedthat.
Half-Human? What a tragedy.
She kept her head high. In the past few hours she had let her guard down some, and now the barbs
wounded her far more than they would have on an ordinary day. She blamed her fatigue for the tears that
collected in her eyes and stiffened her spine.
You are beautiful, Garret murmured close to her ear as they slowed before the doors to the Assassins
Hall. He pulled her close and pressed his lips to a tear that slipped down her cheek. You are my
beautiful Ayla, and I would have you no other way.
It was a lie, but it helped her gain her composure as they entered the Hall.
The reporting for the day had already begun, and the Hall was crowded with interested courtiers and
Assassins ending assignments or awaiting new ones. Ayla moved through the crowd to sit and wait on a
bench in the queue, but Garret pulled her forward, marching her down the aisle in the center of the room,
toward the table where the Guild Master was seated.
Cedric was a Faery so old that it was said he d been on the shore the day Amergin won Ireland with his
feats of Human wizardry. He d walked with Lugh and had once been a lover of Bronwyn, Goddess of
the Northern Sea. He kept his position at Court to be near Mabb, his true love, or so it was said. Ayla
supposed that now she might know the truth behind those rumors, if she found the courage to question
Garret on them.
Garret! Cedric s kind face broke into a wide grin. Though ancient, the Guild Master s looks were
eternally youthful. His hair, sun-kissed-gold despite the lack of sun, was long and just unruly enough to
avoid looking severe. His face was not as beautiful as some Faeries ; the jaw was too wide and sharp,
his nose not quite straight. But he was handsome enough to attract the Queene s eye, if the rumors were
true. His kind blue eyes moved to Ayla, and his smile faded the smallest bit with surprise. And Ayla. It is
an unexpected surprise.
Surely you ve seen my student in my company before, Garret said with a chuckle. He put his arm
around Ayla s waist before she could protest the display, and the hall erupted behind them with
speculative murmurs.
I had heard rumors. Congratulations, friend. He nodded to Ayla. You were a promising member of
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the Guild. You will be missed.
That is why she is here. Garret disentangled his arm and stepped forward with her, leading her as
though she were a child. She has come to make her final report.
Yes, of course. Cedric nodded to the paymaster seated at his left, then motioned to the records
keeper at his right. We have received word of your victory, are ready for the recounting, Assassin.
An almost painful sense of sadness gripped her, freezing her lungs in her chest. She would never stand
here again. In a month, her fellow Assassins would have forgotten her. She cleared her throat and
attempted to speak without her voice quavering. I was instructed to kill five Demons in revenge for
encroachment upon the territory of the Lightworld.
And did you complete this duty? Cedric barely waited for her Yes to continue. It was a formality.
And at what time did you complete this duty?
She hesitated. The time that had passed between her assignment and her return would be questioned.
Could she lie convincingly enough? Garret had believed her, but he was blinded by his certainty that she
would never do anything he did not wish her to do. Suddenly aware of the expectant look on the Guild
Master s face, she said, One day and one night ago.
His gaze flicked to Garret, and then back to her. And why did you not report yesterday?
Everyone in the hall would believe her if she said the consummation of her mating with Garret had taken
precedence over her position as an Assassin. Already some of the courtiers seemed to be leaning in to
hear, so that they could titter at the implications and congratulate Garret with knowing winks as he left the
hall.
Still, Garret would ask her later why she lied, perhaps even demand that she tell the truth so that his
perfect record as a mentor would be unsullied.
While she mulled over her answer in the space of a few heartbeats that felt like ages, Garret stepped
forward and spoke for her. She was wounded in the Darkworld, and had to hide herself in order to
heal. It is lucky indeed that she was returned to me safely. He reached for her hand and lifted it to his
lips as if to kiss it when a voice from the back of the room shocked him into dropping it.
Ah, that would explain the energy expenditure that was reported by my spies last night. Queene Mabb
herself, surrounded by guards and several of her ladies-in-waiting glided down the aisle toward them.
The assembly knelt in a wave, and Garret quickly pulled Ayla down to bow beside him as his sister
approached. Unlike the rest of the Faeries in the room, however, Garret stood, one hand still on Ayla s
shoulder to keep her in her supplicatory position.
From where she knelt, Ayla could see only the Queene s skirt and cape, and one white hand. The skirt
was of a silk so fine that it appeared liquid violet, the cape a deep shade of blue and heavy, with silver
thread twining around amethysts and quartz sewn to the fabric. Gold and silver shimmered on her fingers,
long silver chains dripping with more amethysts wrapped about her wrist.
Your Majesty. What a pleasure to see you again. May I present my mate
Mabb spoke as though she had not heard her brother. There was a large amount of Fae energy
detected in the Darkworld last night, Guild Master. Perhaps you should instruct your Assassins better in
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our policies.
She swept past, and Ayla dared a glance in her direction. Her white hair was long, nearly touching the
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