“I am sure my mother knew her own heart.”
She winced a little, hearing his bitterness. “Yes, she did. I meant no criticism, merely regret. She was my closest friend, when I first came here she taught me. Without her I would know nothing.”
She paused at a small plain wooden bench and bade him sit. He was grateful for the rest, his legs felt as if they would fold under him at any moment.
“May I ask Aspect, have you learned anything of the men who attacked you?”
She shook her head. “Very little. The bodies were examined, nothing of interest was found save that they all had poisoned pellets concealed in their teeth, like Sister Henna. Their faces were not known to anyone. The Realm Guard and the Fourth Order are investigating. I daresay they will provide answers in due course.”
For a woman who had recently escaped death she seemed remarkably unconcerned about the identity of her attackers. “You are not afraid others might try again?”
She frowned as if the thought had not occurred to her before. “If they come they come. There seems little I can do about it. The Faith tells us to accept those things we cannot change.”
“Sister Henna had been here long time. Her betrayal must hurt.”
“Betrayal? I doubt she ever had any loyalty to this place so how could she betray it? She did what she was sent here to do. I must say I’m impressed with her dedication, all this time living a lie and she never faltered, never let her mask slip.”
“She said something, before she died. ‘Once there were seven.’ Do you know what it means?”
There was something there, some reaction but not the same recognition he had seen in Master Sollis, more like fear, but gone in an instant. “You have many questions today, Vaelin. It seems to be a recurring feature of our conversations.”
Another one who’ll tell me nothing. “Forgive me, Aspect.”
She dismissed his concern with a laugh. “After what you did for me I feel I owe you one answer at least. So, ask me, but one question only mind.”
One question only. It almost seemed cruel, as if she was playing with him. He wanted answers to every one of the myriad questions that plagued him, but after a moment’s frantic thought he settled on the one that had been at the forefront of his mind for months. “What do you know of my sister?”
“Ah.” She paused for a moment, sadness lining her face. “I know that she’s a very bright little girl. I know her parents love her very much. I know that she was born little over ten years ago.”
“When my mother was still alive.”
The Aspect sighed heavily. “Vaelin, I don’t wish to hurt you but you must understand that not every marriage is a happy story. Your mother and father loved each other greatly but they were also very different. Your mother hated war, she had seen enough of it in her service, but she accepted your father’s role as Battle Lord because she loved him and because he was a man of justice who strove to keep the worst excesses of the Realm Guard in check. But when the third Meldenean war came she found she could stomach it no longer. She knew what he had been ordered to do and she begged him not to. But he had to obey his King.”
“The city.” Men, women, children… screaming in the flames.
“Yes. It haunted them both and it ended their union. She turned away from him. He began spending more time away from home, how he met the woman who would give him a daughter I don’t know. But when your mother died and you were placed in the Sixth Order they were brought to live in his home. He asked for permission to marry and legitimise the girl but the King refused. The Battle Lord must be an example, a model for the people to follow. It was not long after this that your father left the King’s service.”
“Did my mother know? About the girl.”
“I don’t think so. Her health began to fail about the same time. She concerned herself with your future.” She reached up to smooth the hair from his forehead. “She had many hopes for you. All the good she did, all the people she healed, but you were the proudest achievement of her life.”
“Then I am glad she did not live to see what I have become.”
The slap was slow by his standards but so unexpected he failed to block it.
“Don’t ever say that!” Her voice was heavy with anger as he rubbed his stinging cheek. “What have you become? A brave young man who saved my life. Not to mention Sister Sherin’s. I know your mother’s spirit sings with pride at who you are.”
“I am a killer. It’s all I know how to do.”
“You are a warrior in the service of the Faith. Do not forget that. It may mean nothing to you now but it will in time.”
“It’s not what she wanted. Putting me in that place so my father could move his whore into her house…”
“It wasn’t his decision.”
“Another King’s order, then. A symbol of his devotion…”