He thought back to the Issari he had first met in the streets of Eteer—a kind, determined young woman, soft-spoken but strong. The woman he loved. The woman he had made love to on the beach. The woman who had become something more, become a figure too great, too distant, too wreathed in light for him to reach.

He looked to the north. Beyond the smoking ruin of Goshar, the desert, the sea, and the forests, lay the fallen Requiem and his family. He looked back toward the tent. The simple canvas wall suddenly seemed as great a distance as the northern wilderness, and beyond it lay Issari, a woman he loved and perhaps had lost.

He stood, torn, as the sun set beyond the horizon.

ISSARI

 
ISSARI

"What have I done?"

Issari stepped around the table and toward her bed. She knelt by the bedside, her breath ragged, and looked at the amulet embedded into her palm. Its glow had subsided with her anger. That hand now trembled.

"Who am I?" she whispered.

A priestess, a voice answered inside her. Was that the voice of Taal?

A queen, spoke another voice. Was it the voice of Eteer's children calling to her?

A Vir Requis, spoke yet another voice. Was it the voice of the Draco constellations?

A woman in love, said another voice. Was this Tanin speaking in her mind?

"I don't know." She lowered her head and tasted her tears. "I don't know who I am. I don't know who I should become."

Tanin saw her becoming some mythical figure, a savior, a messiah. He feared her. She had seen the fear in his eyes. And Issari feared herself, feared what she was turning into, no longer a mere princess but a figure of . . . of what? Of legend? Of piety or mythology? A woman who could destroy empires, raise nations, vanquish hosts of darkness? Perhaps her people saw her that way—the children of Eteer and Goshar. Perhaps Taal saw her that way, for he had blessed her with his amulet. Perhaps the Draco stars saw such greatness in her, for they had blessed her with their magic only last year.

"I'm scared," she whispered into her fist. "I'm scared, Taal. I'm scared, stars of Requiem. Myriads of people worship me; they call me the Lady in White, the Starkissed Queen, the Bane of Demons, the Light of the Gods, the Daughter of Shahazar, and many other names. But I'm only Issari, and I'm frightened, and I don't know what to do. Where do I go?"