Ella tried to answer, but no words would come out. "I… I don't know," she finally said. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Ella, for saving my friend's life. There is no debt between us," the prince said.

He turned away from the vista below, looking at Ella for the first time. The soft light from the table shone from Ella's hair, caressing her pale skin with its glow.

The prince hadn't spoken for some time. Ella looked up at his face.

There was a fire in his eyes, a hunger she had never seen before. Ilathor reached down and without seeking her permission he ran his fingers through the ends of her hair, holding it up. "Like spun gold," he whispered to himself; she could only just hear it.

Ella took a slight step back, even though part of her screamed, telling her to move forward. The prince's hand fell down.

"Now that there is no debt between us, could you explain to me why you've taken me from my home, against my will? If you'd explained your case and said you needed me, I might have come."

"When last I saw you, you fled without a word. I opened my heart to you, back in the desert, and your response was to leave. Can you blame me for being unsure of you? Can you fault me for wanting to ask your help in person?"

"My homeland…" Ella began.

Ilathor held up a hand. "When I heard of the woman who saved her people at the Bridge of Sutanesta I asked Jehral to discover the truth, and if you were alive, to do whatever it took to bring you here. I am sorry if your journey here was not easy, but I need you, Ella, and it is for more than my own desire that you're here, sincere as it is. Once more, lives depend on your actions."

"What is it you want me to do?"

Prince Ilathor looked out the window at the tiered city below. It was a long time before he spoke. "I need you to build the bridge," he finally said, turning to Ella.

"I don't understand," Ella said.

"I brought you here so you can build me the bridge that you built for your people after the Bridge of Sutanesta was destroyed. A bridge of light, I have heard it called. Only you can do such a thing. We have been waiting here for an eternity. The ferry has been destroyed so we cannot cross Lake Halapusa, and the lack of supplies is having no effect on the Petryans. I need you to build me a bridge across the lake."

"I see," Ella said. "I understand now." She shook her head slowly. "Prince Ilathor, you could have saved yourself some trouble, and Jehral a lot of effort. The bridge I built spanned a distance one hundred times smaller than what you need. It isn't possible."

"Please, I beg you to try," Prince Ilathor said.