Neria was silent, leaning against his shoulder as he explained these things to her. Mas Vares for Rhy, when she saw him again. But she listened to the rest, heard the things Kell was trying to say. Aven was reserved for certain kinds of people, people like Kell. Other. Blessed or cursed. She looked up into Kell's black eye and frowned.

It wasn't fair, she thought, that he should live his life feeling as if he was an outsider. Brother to the prince but never treated in kind - though she knew Kell did not mind at all - and still seen as something else. Someone apart from others.

She stilled again as he explained what she'd done by mistake. The guard had given her a test: go into the sanctuary if you mean no harm. If she would not go, if it would not allow her, then Kell would have been summoned to end her life. Her expression was strange and unreadable for a moment. Somehow, even as deep within Kell's thoughts and heart as she was, her thoughts were untraceable and as silent as the grave.

Softly, she asked, "How often have you had to do that?"