He went to the southern rim of the hill and...
He went to the southern rim of the hill and lifted his hand in some signal to the men on his own ridgeThe woman went over and stood beside him, and he put an arm around her shouldersA moment later they heard the notes of a horn ring out over the valley and the hills, clear and high and beautiful, sounding an end to battle
Scelto, still on his knees, wiped at his eyes with a grimy handHe looked over and saw that the third man, the one who had tried to ask him something, was still gazing out to seaThere was a pain there he could not understandThere had been pain everywhere today thoughHe had had it in his grasp, even now, to speak truth and unleash so much more
His eyes swung slowly down again, away from the hard blue sky and the blue-green sea, past the man at the western edge of the hill, past d'Eymon of Ygrath slumped across the King's chair with his own blade in his breast, and his gaze came to rest on the two dead men beside each other on the ground, so near that they could have touched had they been alive
He could keep their secretHe could live with it

EPILOGUE
THREE MEN ON HORSES IN THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS LOOKING over a valley to the eastThere are pine and cedar woods beyond, hills on either sideThe Sperion River sparkles in the distance, flowing down out of the mountains, fake louis vuitton handbag not far from where it will begin its long curve west to find the seaThe air is bright and cool, with a feel of autumn in the breezeThe colors of the leaves will be changing soon and the year-round snow on the highest peaks of the mountains will begin moving down, closing the pass
In the tranquil green of the valley below them, Devin sees the dome of Eanna's temple flash in the morning sunlightBeyond the Sanctuary he can just make out the winding trail they had ridden down in the spring, coming here from the east across the borderIt seems a lifetime agoHe turns in the saddle and looks north over the rolling, gradually subsiding hills
"Will we be able to see it from here, later?"
Baerd glances over and then follows his gaze"What, Avalle and the Towers? Easily, on any clear dayMeet me here in a year's time and you'll see my green-and-white Prince's Tower, I promise you
"Where are you getting the marble?" Sandre asks
"Same place as Orsaria did for the original towerThe quarry is still available, believe it or not, about two days' ride west of us near the coast
"And you'll have it carried here?"
"By sea to Tigana, then on river barges up the SperionThe same way they did it back then Baerd has shaved his beard againHe looks years younger, Devin finds himself thinking
"How do you know so rolex diamond watch much about it?" Sandre asks with lazy mockery"I thought all you knew was archery and how not to fall on your face when you were out alone in the dark"I was always going to be a builderI have my father's love of stone if not his giftI'm a craftsman though, and I knew how to look at things, even back thenI think I know as much as any man alive about how Orsaria built his towers and his palacesIncluding one in Astibar, SandreWould you like me to tell you where your secret passages are?"
Sandre laughs aloud"Don't boast, you presumptuous masonOn the other hand, it has been almost twenty years since I was in that palace, you may have to remind me of where they are
Grinning, Devin looks over at the DukeIt has taken him a long time to adjust to seeing Sandre without his dark Khardhu guise"You will be going back after the wedding, then?" he asks, feeling a sadness at the thought of another parting ahead
"I think I must, though I will say that I'm tornI feel too old for governing anyone nowAnd it isn't as if I have any heirs to groom
After a moment's stillness, Sandre takes them smoothly past the darkness of those memories: "To be honest, the thing that interests me most right now is what I've been doing here in TiganaThe mind-linking with Erlein and Sertino and the wizards we've managed to new cartier watches find
"And the Night Walkers?" Devin asks
"Indeed, Baerd's Carlozzini as wellI must say I'm pleased that the four of them are coming with Alienor to the wedding
"Not as pleased as Baerd is, I'm sure," Devin adds slylyBaerd gives him a look, and pretends to be absorbed in scanning the distant line of the road south of them
"Well, hardly as pleased," Sandre agrees"Though I do hope he'll spare his Elena for a small part of the time she's hereIf we are going to change the attitude of this peninsula to magic there's no better time to start than now, wouldn't you say?"
"Oh, certainly," Devin says, grinning broadly
"She's not my Elena," Baerd murmurs, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the road
"She isn't?" Sandre asks in mock surprise"Then who's this Baerd person she keeps using me to relay messages to? Would you know the fellow?"
"Never heard of him," Baerd says laconicallyHe keeps a straight face for a moment longer, then gives way to laughter"I'm beginning to remember why I preferred keeping to myselfAnd what about Devin, if you're on that subject? You don't think Alais would be sending him messages if she could?"
"Devin," says the Duke airily, "is a mere child, far too young and innocent to be getting involved with women, especially the likes of that guileful, experienced creature from chanel cambon ligne bag Astibar He attempts to look stern and fails; both of the others know his real opinion of Rovigo's daughter
"There are no inexperienced women in Astibar," Baerd retorts"And besides, he's old enoughHe even has a battle scar on his ribs to show her
"She's seen it already," Devin says, enjoying this enormously"She taped it up after Rinaldo healed me," he adds hastily as both of the others raise their eyebrows He tries and fails to conceive of Alais as guileful and deceptiveThe memory of her on the window-ledge in Senzio keeps coming back to him of late though; the particular smile on her face as he stumbled along the outside landing to his own room
"They are coming, aren't they?" the Duke asks"It occurs to me that I could sail home with Rovigo
"They'll be here," Devin confirms"They had a wedding of their own last week, or they'd have arrived by now
"I see you are intimately versed in their timing," Baerd says with a straight face"Just what do you plan to do after the wedding?"
"Actually," Devin says, "I wish I knewThere must be ten different things I've thought about He evidently sounds more serious than he'd meant to, for both of his friends turn their attention fully to him
"Such as?" Sandre asks,
Devin takes a breath and lets it outHe holds up both hands and starts counting on his cartier man watch finger