A new day dawned, and with it, new hope. Another day separated Mai from the night of Ishad’s possession, and that could only be a good thing.

Mai got dressed and entered Ishad’s room, which by now had been cleaned thoroughly. Inside, there was no trace of the events three nights back. And also inside, was Ishad, sleeping facedown on the bed as light streamed through the window. The bed curtain was gone.

“Ishad?” asked Mai.

“It’s a new day dawning,” he said, slowly getting up from the bed, and smiling at her. It was amazing that he was able to smile so fully, in this very room, so soon after what had happened, had happened.

Ishad began to change from his night into his day clothes, but even so, he understood what the look on Mai’s face meant. “Why dwell?” he asked her, slipping on a new shirt over his head.

Before Mai could respond, Ishad finished dressing, and walked closer to Mai. “Did I forget to tell you last night how stunning you looked in that dress?” she asked. “And how stunning you look in the one you wear now?”

“You couldn’t have complimented me on this gray dress, when I didn’t wear it until today,” said Mai, smiling quite despite herself. She supposed it was a mark of how much she truly loved Ishad that he was able to cheer her up by saying so little.

“Semantics,” said Ishad. “This morning, I have to go back to the infirmary for a check up, but I’ll be back by noon, and then I’m all yours.”

“Didn’t the priests and spellweavers already check you out?” asked Mai.

“Yes,” said Ishad, “but last night, Lord Ashat approached me and said I had to be rechecked. He looked rather jumpy, and he is the lord of this city, so I didn’t argue.”

“All right,” said Mai, noticing how dark a shadow she cast in the brilliant sunlight. “But hurry back.”

“I will,” said Ishad. “Bye.”

And so he left.

Mai used the full length mirror in the room to check if her hoop earrings hung correctly, and then headed out into the hallway herself.

In the hallway, Mai saw that Ishad was already out of sight, but Broken stood by the open door to his room.

Broken noticed Mai immediately, and came over to her.

“Is something the matter?” she asked, alerted by the odd expression on his face.

“Yes,” said Broken. “I can’t be so alone anymore. I need someone to confide in.”

Mai was startled, but managed to nod.

Then, however, before they could go inside Broken’s room, the pair of noblewomen he had been flirting with appeared in the hall, and headed at him.

Mai thought they might be a little dissuaded when they saw that Broken was with another woman. She was wrong.

The appearance of the two was irritating, to say the least. One was in a green dress, and the other, slightly shorter, wore white. They both looked as if, that morning, servants had labored for an hour so that they could appear just so. Their appearance rather put Mai’s own to shame. By comparison, she felt like she had just rolled out of bed.

“This is Lady Aza as Sebe del Karaki,” said Broken, indicating the lady wearing the green. “And this is her friend,” said Broken, indicating the other, “the Lady Val as Resel of the Second Paril.” Mai noticed that his tone was now different.

Feeling awkward, Mai said, “I am Maiako as Arathou del Tachen. Glad to meet you.” A moment later, she realized she had just made it clear she was Princess of the Arathou Dynasty. Interestingly, neither Aza nor Val seemed to care.

“I heard rumors that you had come here,” said Val.

“Rumors?” laughed Aza. “Broken told us!”

“Well, he wasn’t our only source,” said Val. She turned back to Mai. “It is a pleasure to meet you, your highness.”

“And you as well, Lady Val.” Mai exchanged a similar bout of pleasantries with Aza, who, afterwards, immediately engaged Broken in conversation about a new bit of Palace gossip.

“How did you get to Asan Paril?” Val asked Mai lightly.

“Around a ways,” said Mai, sullenly.

“I heard from Broken you stopped at Barad,” said Val. “I also heard, not from Broken of course, as he’s too noble to say something like this, that you and the merchant who was our guest a dinner last night, are together. Is that true?”

“I…umm.”

“I guess it doesn’t really matter,” said Val. “Broken knows that everyone has their own taste, and I agree with him.”

“Ishad…”

“I did come up with this other idea last night,” said Val. “I and Aza were talking, and both heard the rumor that, perhaps, this Ishad, on your horrible travels forced you to become engaged with him.”

“That’s not true,” said Mai.

“I didn’t really think it was,” said Val. “But then again, if the rumor was true, it would explain why there was another rumor, that three days ago, there was an altercation in Ishad’s chambers. You don’t need to be shy about it, Princess.”

Mai looked at Val in a way that, if not a glare, was still supposed to humble the other woman. “The rumors are false.”

“Of course,” said Val, “of course they are, your highness.” She looked at Aza for a moment. “We should probably get going. Broken and the Princess had some business they were to discuss.” Val looked Mai up and down, examining her. “You look nice, Princess.”

And a moment later, almost as quickly as they appeared, Val and Aza were gone.

“Most other men would be content with a single woman at their arm,” Mai told Broken, disgustedly. “You, of course, need two.”

“I am their friend,” said Broken. “Neither Aza nor Val are what you imply.”

“Then why have they been hanging around you for the past few days?” asked Mai.

“Because they wished to talk to me,” said Broken. “I can be quite charming, you know.”

“To those who don’t know you,” said Mai.

Broken nodded at the insult. “There is more to the story of those two ladies,” he said.

“I don’t know about Aza,” said Mai. “But, Val was insulting.” She added emphasis on the word, to mock the way Val spoke.

“You should not be quite so quick to judge,” said Broken. “Val loves rumors, to be sure, but only because she doesn’t want to deal with the cold hard reality that her older brother, who she loves, dearly, was at the Holy Citadel when the Makini conquered it, and she had no idea what happened to him. Aza is from the Karaki lands, and has only been in Asan Paril for a few months. Her only friend is Val. Her father is on an extended visit here, and he is hoping to marry her off before he returns home, a home Aza desperately wants to return to.”

“I didn’t know,” said Mai, suddenly a little ashamed. “How could I?”

“Don’t judge before you know the whole story,” said Broken. “Did you notice how neither lady said one seductive word to me during the visit?”

Mai realized that was true. She nodded.

“That first night when they met me, Val and Aza’s intentions were something close to what you originally assumed. “But, as I talked to them, I became very clear that they wanted nothing more than a friend. Did you notice how Aza only said a few words to you? Because of your status, she was too afraid to speak. Both are quite impressed with how you dealt with Selri. She was quite unpopular, you know. They were just too embarrassed to say as much.”

“I appreciate you telling me this,” said Mai, with as much dignity as she could.

Broken nodded. “Now, come into my room,” he said. “I truly have much to talk to you about.”

And so they went in. Sunlight streamed from the window, as it had in Ishad’s room, but now, sunlight was not quite so bright. It seemed to Mai to be a portent that the long summer would soon end.

“What do you wish to speak to me about?” asked Mai, when Broken shut the door behind them.

“My fears,” said Broken. “Despite everything, I fear I am beginning to fail in my duty to protect you.” His gray eyes matched Mai’s dress, and she began to wish that she had chosen another color.

“You have never failed me before,” said Mai. “Why should you start now?”

“Because I am becoming distracted,” said Broken.

“How so?”

“With them.”

“The two you so easily explained away to me?” asked Mai.

Broken paused. “That is not all. Perhaps…perhaps I should not have troubled you, Mai. I may merely have woken up on the wrong side of the bed.”

He turned away from Mai.

“Broken, everything’s all right. You’ve never let me down before, and you won’t now. I’m wearing gray,” Mai smiled. “Perhaps that means I’m your biggest fan.”

And Broken turned back to her, with pain in his eyes. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew everything,” he said. “I want tell you,” he rushed to say before Mai could respond. “I just can’t.”

“Broken, in a very odd sort of way, you’ve helped me move past the most changing experience in my life,” said Mai. “The riots in the Occluded City. My father’s death. You have saved my life more than once. There’s nothing you can tell me that will change that.”

Broken looked into Mai’s eyes, and with that gaze, seemed to look into her soul. “I can tell you one thing,” he said at last. “When the Nari met me in the Holy Citadel, he…reassured me that the Nari would not shy away from a…past connection they had with me.”

“So you know Nari,” said Mai. “Big deal. And that much was obvious from before, Broken.”

“The Nari I met that night,” Broken continued, “his name was Slytherayaim. He was the Third Guide.”

“The same name Eton gave for his Nari in my dream,” said Mai.

“Yes.”

“What does that mean?” asked Mai.

“To know that name, to know that name was significant,” said Broken. “Eton has proved that he is more dangerous. And I am more sure than ever that Eton was behind the possessions.”

Mai breathed deeply, as another little part of the safety of Asan Paril collapsed around her.

“I don’t care if you tell Ishad,” said Broken. “But the truth is, I am confiding in you, not him.”

“Why me?” asked Mai.

“Because you’re the only one I can talk to, who understands even a part of what I am going through,” said Broken.

“I’m…honored.”

“There is a training room on the first floor,” said Broken. “If you want to see me, I’ll be there.” And quickly, Broken left the room.

Mai stood there, thinking, for some time.

It was not good for Broken to be so worried.

She had breakfast, and some time after that, Ishad came back, announcing that, just like the first time, spellweavers and priests had pronounced him free of corrupting magical influences.

Lunch came, and lunch went, and then, the two of them took a carriage ride around the city of Asan Paril. The driver pointed out the sights, but Mai paid little attention, preferring to bask in Ishad’s company.

After the ride was done, Mai excused herself from Ishad, saying she had to go to the library. He let her go.

The library of the Palace was in the building’s basement, and was guarded by a few tired soldiers and librarians.

There were few people in the dim series of chambers that composed the library, and those that were also visiting were bent over tables, examining manuscripts. Mai was ignored.

She wandered through the interconnecting rooms, with their walls lined with high bookcases, and wondered how anyone could find anything in such a maze. She also wondered what she was looking for.

Mai wasn’t really sure.

In her wanderings, with the brief help of a librarian, Mai found Afflictions of the Dark Spiritual, which Broken had returned to the library. But her gaze passed over it, and Mai moved away from the book without bothering to pick it up. That book wasn’t what she was looking for.

Mai wanted to escape from the world, for a time, and all that book could do was remind her of harsh realities.

Eventually she just sat down, in one of the isolated chairs, in a hidden part of the library, and rested. She was tired.

And, indeed, she fell asleep.

When Mai woke up, her head was somewhat clearer. She traveled from the library to the training room Broken had spoke of.

In the training room, things were very different from the library. Instead of many small interconnected rooms, here there was one large one. Mai moved past areas where soldiers practiced fencing, and areas with wrestling, heading to the back of the room, where somehow she knew Broken would be.

And indeed he was. At the back of the room, a leather sack was suspended from the ceiling by chains.

And Broken was pummeling it like he would never get another chance.

Mai stopped a couple yards away from Broken, and watched him. Broken’s armor and sword, Mai knew, were hidden away in his chamber. Broken wore nothing but a tunic and pants. The lack of his weapons, however, did not seem to impede him at all.

Broken jumped two feet straight up, then, from his height, delivered two savage kicks to the leather sack, one from each leg. The kicks sent the bag flying backwards on its chain. When the chain reached its limit, the chain swung back at Broken, but he performed an identical maneuver to the one he had before. Jumping two feet in the air, Broken kicked it savagely again, and the bag hastily retreated.

This time, when the sack returned, Broken fired off a seemingly endless series of punches, that solidly connected with their target again, and again, and again.

Mai finally stepped forward.

Broken didn’t look at her, and didn’t stop punching, but he nodded to make her aware he knew she was there.

Now that she was closer, Mai could see that Broken’s face and neck were christened with sweat.

“How long have you been doing this?” she asked him, amidst the noise of his continued punching, and the noise that all the others were making in the training room.

“Since morning,” said Broken.

“You didn’t stop for lunch?” asked Mai.

“Yep.”

Broken continued striking the bag with his fists.

“Don’t you want to stop?” asked Mai.

“I can hear you fine,” said Broken, still not looking at her. “And now, this is an exercise in dual focus.”

“All right,” said Mai, feeling a little awkward. She watched his fists fly for a few moments, suddenly mesmerized. Then, she asked, “Do you really need to train?”

“Not really,” said Broken. “But I was trying to see if being active would clear my head.”

“Has it?” asked Mai.

“A little.”

Mai watched Broken’s punches continue for a few more moments. What he calls being active, Mai noted, I probably couldn’t keep up for a single minute.

“Broken?” she asked.

“Yes?”

“I have a question.” The question had only occurred to Mai at that moment, but she was very interested to hear the answer. As well as embarrassed to ask the question in the first place.

“What is it?”

“What do you know of my relationship with my father?” asked Mai.

“He abused you,” said Broken, quite offhandedly. He continued to punch.

Mai was rather taken aback by the prompt answer. “How did you know that?” she asked him.

“The way you framed that question was a clear giveaway,” said Broken. “But I have known for quite a while. Since Tevin Farm.”

Mai thought she should have known that Broken knew. If it had been apparent to Ishad, it had been just as apparent to Broken.

“Why did you ask?” said Broken.

“Because…” said Mai. She steadied her speech. “Because this morning you said that I was the only one you could talk to, who understood a part of what you were going through, and I wondered if you knew my secret, and that was what you meant.”

“Good guess,” said Broken, “for a variety of reasons. But no. I was talking about the fact that I have told you other things about me and my past, before.”

Mai just stood there, realizing that she had let such a private thing out, and it had not been necessary to mention at all. Broken had already known, and that had not been the reason.

Broken quickly realized that something was wrong. He jumped up in the air one final time, perhaps clearing three feet, and delivered one more savage double kick, which slammed the sack almost to the ceiling.

Broken then grasped the bag when it came back, and steadied it. He turned to Mai.

“You’re not all right, are you?” he asked.

“I suppose not,” said Mai, sniffing.

“What you let go was not easy to say,” said Broken.

“I shouldn’t have bothered,” said Mai. Her face was beginning to go red, and she wasn’t entirely sure why. She looked at the ground.

“You showed me that you trust me,” said Broken. “That’s worth quite a bit.”

“Really?” asked Mai, looking up.

“Indeed.”

“So let’s go,” said Mai.

They were about to, when a man in white-dyed leather armor stepped in front of their path. A manservant stood behind him.

Mai recognized the high-bred face in an instant. The man in the white-dyed armor was Savel is Varad, Lord of the Second Paril. In Barad, he had danced on Broken’s strings. Now Mai feared the situation would be quite different.

“Hello, trickster,” said Savel to Broken. He glanced at Mai. “Ah. I see that Maiako, as ever, chooses to tag along.”

“If you know who I am now,” said Mai, “I would thank you to hear a little bit more respect.”

“Why?” asked Savel. “You were once a princess, Maiako, daughter of Emperor Mentis. But now, he is dead, and you grovel at the feet of my High Lord Tur is Ashat, begging him to protect you. I think I admired you more before I learned who you were.”

“Is there a point to this?” asked Broken, wiping the sweat off his face. “For if there is not, we were leaving even before you arrived.”

From behind a nearby counter, a guard shouted, “I would let him go, my lord. He has been training here for the last eight hours. Without break!”

“So, my suspicions about you were correct,” said Savel. “You are quite a fighter, Broken. But, as your name implies, you are less than whole, less than perfect, and so you will not mind if I challenge you.”

“I do mind,” said Broken. “I have more important things to deal with than you, Savel.”

“What?”

“Why would I tell you?”

The two men looked at each other dangerously.

“At a later time, I would be more than happy to put you where you belong, Savel,” said Broken. “But right now, as I said, I am busy.”

“You are being dangerously insolent.”

“Am I now?” asked Broken. He rolled up his left sleeve, exposing his snake tattoo, and proving that he was a noble, just like Savel.

As Savel stared, Broken let the sleeve drop back down. “You might know what I call myself,” said Broken, “but you are sorely misinformed about other parts of my persona.”

Savel took a slight step back. “Perhaps I did underestimate you, my lord,” he said mockingly. “But my challenge still stands.”

“And I accept it,” said Broken. “But not now.”

“When then?” asked Savel.

“Tomorrow, at noon, two days from now, here, in this room, in one of the rings,” said Broken. “Is that acceptable?”

“It is.”

“Then be gone,” said Broken.

At Broken’s words, Savel nodded, and, with his manservant, walked away.

Mai surveyed the room, and saw the crowd of onlookers, which had gathered at the confrontation, now disperse.

An odd sort of shadow fell over the training room, as Mai and Broken walked from it.