They'd pursued her, but Shani was good, and no warrior could touch her. Only another elementalist could take her down, and none could be summoned before Shani forced the ferrymen guiding the Halapusa Ferry to take her across. All alone, she made her way over the Elmas to Altura, fleeing to the very people she was supposed to hate.

"And you know what? You Alturans aren't so bad," Shani finished.

Ella's eyes were red, but her mouth was set in a grim line, her forehead creased with determination. "Don't stop, Shani," Ella said. "Don't stop until your people are free. It isn't much, but I'll do everything in my power to help you."

Shani shrugged. "There are decent Petryans and there are bad Petryans, just like anywhere else. But I've made my stand, and any who fights at the High Lord's side is on the wrong side. I'm sure I'm not the only one among my people ready for change."

Ella told Shani about her own childhood, and about her confused relationship with Brandon, the man who had raised her and Miro. No matter what the circumstances were, he had loved the two children, and many times now Ella had visited his grave, each time laying down bunches of summerglens and starflowers. Ella spoke about the lessons she'd learned while studying at the Academy of Enchanters, for the first time able to talk about them with a steady voice and a clear mind.

"There's more," Shani said. She pushed her dark hair out of her eyes and leaned forward to touch the pendant Ella wore at her neck.

Ella hadn't even realised she was holding it as she spoke.

"Who is he?" Shani asked.

"His name is Killian. He was a thief, from Aynar, working for the Primate. He has a strange ability, it's difficult to explain, but he used his ability and the fact that I was… fond… of him to steal the Alturan Lexicon. We tracked him down. I… found him. Or, I suppose, he found me. He had a change of heart."

"It sounds to me like you're having difficulty explaining." Shani grinned.

Ella blushed. "Nothing happened. Well, we did kiss, but that was back in Sarostar."

Shani whistled. "You really feel something for this thief, don't you?"

"He's not a thief."

"You just said he was." Shani's grin broadened.

"He had a difficult life, that's all. He grew up in an orphanage and then on the streets of Salvation, with no family and no home. Stealing was the only thing he knew. He always wanted to be something else. He even spent some time working as an acrobat."

Ella remembered Killian's sad story. The only family he ever knew was killed by the Emperor's men, their tents and wagons burned to the ground. No wonder he had turned to the Primate.

"You love him?" Shani asked.