“She failed the first test. She failed the second. I believe there were other attempts. But you are Consort, so I will tell you this: it was her hope that she might find the word at the heart of her sister’s life, and that she might, in so doing, absorb it or carry it.”

“She wanted to resurrect the dead.”

“Yes. That was the start of it. She knew what the Barrani know: that the words come from—and return to—the Lake. She reasoned that her sister could therefore somehow be found, that amends could be made. But she would not have access to the Lake unless she passed the many tests.

“Her father wished for her to pass those tests; if she was not the favored daughter, she was nonetheless his daughter, and in this fashion she could prove to be of use. But he did not forgive the death of the sister.”

“No one told her that she could not pass the test if that was her sole ambition? The words that grant life are not the lives themselves; she might find the word, but that would return none of her sister to her or her family.”

“She did not speak of that ambition; she was not a fool. If that was her goal, she knew that she would be disqualified before she could even begin. She desired her father’s forgiveness at that time. This would be her atonement. And it would prove to him that he had two special daughters.”

The Consort looked down at her hands. “It is better,” she said softly, “to accept what is given—or what is not given—no matter how bitter the lack might seem.”

“You are Consort,” the Avatar said. “She is not.”

“This happened before the war, before the fall of the Halls?”

“Yes. I believe at some point she understood that the test was not political; that the adjudication could not be bypassed by either personal power or wealth. She had nothing the Lake desired—in that, I believe she felt the Lake and her father were similar. It was bitter.”

“She spoke to you?”

“She spoke to me then. She desired entry into the Lake.”

The Consort’s brows gathered together, as if in thought. “You told her that you could not grant that.”

“I told her I could not—my core functions would prevent such intrusion, regardless of my desire. The Lake is both strong and the balance delicate; the risk was far too high. She accepted that.”

“She did not,” the Consort said, voice much softer.

“She did. While I was whole, she did not make the attempt. She traveled beyond the High Halls in search of knowledge.”

“Did you not think she intended that knowledge to be used against you?”