-Very pretty words. You speak them well. You speak them with sincerity and passion. The boy who came before you did likewise, but he betrayed me. He took my gift and failed to keep his word. He did nothing to persuade the Elves to study the old ways, to master the old magic. Would you make me the same promise now if I were to give the Elfstones to you-

It caught Phryne by surprise. She hadn’t realized that Pancea Rolt Gotrin had gotten possession of the Stones—and when she remembered the pouch in Mistral’s hands, she realized the old woman was baiting her. But why would she do that?

“Kirisin Belloruus did what he could, and some followed him in his studies,” she answered. “Most did not and would not be persuaded otherwise. But, yes, I would make the same promise, and I would work hard to keep it.”

The old woman laughed, a high cackle that sounded like a wild animal calling out in the darkness of the eastern swamps.

-I know you, girl. You are Phryne Amarantyne. You are Mistral’s granddaughter, and she has promised you the Elfstones. That is the reason you are here, isn’t it? Come down out of the world of light and living things to this place of darkness and death—what other reason could there be? You needed to find her to gain possession of the Elfstones. Do not suppose that you can dissemble with me-

“It is more than that, my Queen.” Phryne decided that addressing the shade with respect was the better choice, and she would stay with it. “I came here to make certain that my grandmother was safe. She disappeared from her home, and I was frightened for her. There are Elves aboveground, among the living, who sought to put her here among the dead. One of them is my stepmother. She killed my father, the King, and she will not be satisfied until the Belloruus line is extinguished.”

The shade made a dismissive gesture, hunching her shoulders like a carrion feeder.

-My line was extinguished centuries ago. All of them are dead and gone. All of them live down here to keep me company; all live in the afterlife I have provided for them. What care I for you and yours? Your line is of no importance. Nor are the lines of other families among the living. I care nothing for the living, just as they care nothing for me-

The shade hissed again, softer now and teasing.