A calm, hard voice spoke into the chamber, causing Isana to flinch in surprised reaction. “Be cautious,” said Invidia Aquitaine. “You are being manipulated.” The former High Lady entered the chamber, attired in the formfitting black chitin-armor apparently worn by all of the Aleran Citizens who served the vord.

The vord Queen turned her head slightly, her only acknowledgment of Invidia’s words. She frowned, and swiveled her unsettling eyes back to Isana. Silence stretched for a time before she asked, “Is this true?”

Isana stared at Invidia. She had heard Amara’s descriptions of the creature clinging to Invidia’s torso, its bulbous body pulsing in a rhythm like a slow heartbeat. But seeing it happening, seeing the blood that seeped weakly from where the creature’s head thrust into the woman’s chest, was a different matter altogether. Invidia had been many things to Isana—ally and manipulator, mentor and murderess. Isana had ample reason to hate the former High Lady, she supposed. But looking at her now, she could summon forth nothing more than pity.

And revulsion.

“That is a matter of viewpoint,” Isana replied to the vord Queen, her eyes never leaving Invidia. “I am attempting to understand you. I am attempting to enable you to understand us more clearly.”

“Knowledge may make you more able to prevail against me,” the Queen said. “It is a sensible course of action to pursue. But the reverse is also true. Why would you seek to allow me to understand your kind better?”

Invidia stepped forward. “Isn’t it obvious?” she asked, her voice calm. She looked nowhere but at Isana. “She senses the emotions in you, just as I do. She hopes to draw them out of you, to use them to influence your actions.”

The Queen’s mouth twisted into a chill smile. “Ah. Is that true, Isana?”

“From a certain point of view,” Isana replied. “I hoped to reach out to you. To convince you to cease hostilities.”

“Invidia,” the Queen said, “how would you evaluate her skills at watercrafting?”

“As the equal of my own,” Invidia replied smoothly. “To be cautious, I would say that she was my equal at least.”

The vord Queen absorbed that for a moment. Then she nodded. “In your judgment, is there anything she could directly accomplish by this method?”

“Only to learn how pointless it is to try,” Invidia replied, her voice tired.

“There is without question emotion like our own inside you. But you do not feel it in the same way we do. It does not influence your decisions or judgment.” She stared at Isana without any emotion showing on her face or in her manner, and said, “Believe me. I’ve tried. It is already over, Isana. If you would reduce the pain and suffering our people experience, you should advise them to surrender.”

“They would not listen,” the Queen said dismissively. “And besides, I’m not letting her go.”