“As far as Sorrow Singer knows, she’s not just Black Rock’s surviving singer,” Arif said a few seconds later. “She’s the only survivor, period. And the only reason she’s alive is that she was visiting Moonlight Dancing Clan. One of her litter brothers had married into Moonlight Dancing, and their central range was just far enough away to be outside the blast area and firestorm.” The linguist shook her head slowly. “Moonlight Dancing was close enough its memory singers felt Black Rock die…and so did she.”

Honor felt her hand press her lips, felt Hamish’s arm encircle her, felt Nimitz pressing against the back of her neck, and all she could think of was the horror of a telempath—a memory singer—actually experiencing the deaths of everyone she’d ever known and loved.

“I don’t know how they kept her from suiciding,” Arif’s voice was softer than Honor’s had been. “I…have the impression it wasn’t easy.”

Her eyes met Honor’s from the display, and Honor nodded. Treecats who’d adopted almost never survived the deaths of their human partners. Before prolong, that had been the great tragedy of the bonds, for treecats normally lived over two hundred T-years, and their humans’ deaths had deprived them of all those additional years. Honor could think of only two ’cats in her own lifetime who’d survived their humans’ deaths: Prince Consort Justin’s companion Monroe and Samantha, herself. What it must have been like when every single person in Sorrow Singer’s Clan was ripped away from her in one brutal instant…

“It must have been terrible for all the clans in range,” Arif went on starkly, “and Moonlight Dancing was closest of all. The SFC says they’ve lost over a dozen ’cats since the strike, and others don’t look good. Which made me wonder why in God’s name the clan’s two senior memory singers were traipsing off to visit me at a time like this.”

Stillness hovered. Then, finally, Honor cleared her throat.

“Why—” She paused, her soprano husky, and cleared her throat again. “Why had they come, Adelina?”

“I know Nimitz and Samantha were off-world when it happened,” Arif said a bit obliquely, “but from what Song Shadow and the others say, every ’cat who wasn’t off-world felt it. The more distant clans felt it less strongly, thank God, but even our crew here at Green Bottom got hammered. Trust me, it was…bad. Really bad.