As soon as Peto and his servant retreated, Jorani and Ilsabet did the same. At the end, he showed her the peephole and tiny doorway into her own room, then took her back to the tower.

"What do you think of Peto's plans?" she asked him as soon as they were safe in his room.

"I think he defended your family most admirably," Jorani replied.

"If Kislova is a holding of Sundell, with their troops in our castle, his admirable defense of Mihael is irrelevant," she said with open fury.

"Don't ever act out of hatred, Ilsabet. Hatred makes one rash and inclined to mistakes. Your father's fate should be example enough."

She opened her mouth but held back the hasty and insolent reply. "Don't speak of him so lightly, Jorani," she said after a moment, her voice husky with apparent grief.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know how much you loved him, but I think he would be the first to agree with me."

"Perhaps," she whispered and sniffed as if fighting back tears. Hatred made one see things clearly, she thought. For all his talk that she might one day rule, Jorani now served Mihael. Avenging her father's death, and restoring the family's honor was her duty alone.

She'd show them all what "a slip of a girl" could do. And she knew exactly where to begin.

Dark had been well compensated for his service to Sundell and likewise invited to remain in Nimbus Castle. He'd sent the money to his family but chose to remain in the castle not out of any love for the place but because he had no desire to ever become the object of pity to his family. He kept to his little room during the day. At night, he would feel his way down the open walkway and along the flight of stairs that led the kitchen. There he would sit among the servants listening to their conversation. He was hardly happy, but he was more content than he'd thought he'd ever be.