Durnik laid his hand on the little queen's arm. "I'll see if I can make something for you to give as a present, Ce'Nedra," he said gently. "A boy ought to have a birthday present after he's been separated from his family for so long."

Ce'Nedra's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Durnik!" She wept, embracing him. "You think of everything."

Garion looked at Aunt Pol, his fingers moving slightly. Why don't you ladies take her in and put her to bed, he suggested. We're all through here, and if she thinks too much about this, she's going to get herself worked up. Tomorrow's going to be hard enough for her anyway,

You might be right.

After the ladies had left, Garion and the other men sat around the bolted-down table reminiscing. They covered in some detail the various adventures they had shared since that wind-tossed night so long ago when Garion, Belgarath, Aunt Pol, and Durnik had crept out through the gate of Faldor's farm into the world where the possible and the impossible inexorably merged. Again Garion felt that sense of cleansing, coupled with something else. It was as if, by recapitulating all that had happened in their long journey to the reef lying out there in the darkness, they were somehow bringing everything into focus to strengthen their resolve and their sense of purpose. It seemed to help for some reason.

"I think that's about enough of that," Belgarath said finally, rising to his feet. "Now we all know what's behind us. It's time to pack all that away and start looking ahead. Let's get some sleep.“

Ce'Nedra stirred restlessly when Garion slipped into bed. "I thought you were going to stay up all night," she said sleepily.

"We were talking."

"I know. I could hear the murmur of voices even in here. And men think women talk all the time."

"Don't you?"

"Probably, but a woman can talk while her hands are busy. A man can't."

"You might be right."

There was a moment of silence. "Garion," she said.

"Yes, Ce'Nedra?"

"Can I borrow your knife, the little dagger Durnik gave you when you were a boy?"

"If you want something cut, point it out. I'll cut it for you."

"It's nothing like that, Garion. I just want to have a knife tomorrow."

"What for?"

"As soon as I see Zandramas, I'm going to kill her."

"Ce'Nedra!"

"I have every right to kill her, Garion. You told Cyradis you didn't think you could do it because Zandramas is a woman. I don't suffer from the same kind of delicacy as you do. I'm going to carve out her heart if she has one slowly.” She said it with a fierceness he had never heard in her voice before. “I want blood, Garion! Lots of blood, and I want to hear her scream as I twist the knife in her. You'll lend me your dagger, won't you?'”

"Absolutely not!"