Brother Qown had almost reached the count when she wiped her face.

She was crying. Her tears were silent, wet paths rolling down her red cheeks.

“Count…,” Brother Qown began.

Janel looked away. “Don’t. The others can’t see me like this.”

“No one would blame you for being upset by what happened, Count. It was…” Brother Qown fought for words and failed. “It was horrifying.”

She sniffed again, tossed her head back, swallowing a short laugh. “I’m a stallion. They need to think me strong. When this is over and they’re safe—then they may realize how they’ve misplaced their trust a second time.”

“Count Janel, you’re making no sense,” Brother Qown said. “If not for you—”

“If not for me,” she said, “all those people in Mereina would still be alive.”

“Not true.”

“Ninavis was right; I should have struck down Tamin when I had the chance. Am I not Janel Danorak? I was the one who insisted on my way. My way led straight to a town full of dead.”

“Tamin’s murder would have stopped nothing! Tamin didn’t unleash the witch-smoke, and you had no reason to think Senera a threat.”

“No,” Janel agreed. “But she did it in response to what happened with Dedreugh. Because I revealed his true nature as Kasmodeus. She did this to cover up the real crimes, and she’s proven how far she’ll go to erase their tracks.” Janel grimaced. “A long way, as it happens.”

Brother Qown bit his lip. He believed the count had misjudged the Doltari witch’s motives. For some reason, Senera had been … satisfied … when Janel triumphed over Kasmodeus, as if the Doltari woman had just finished a task. Nothing in Senera’s attitude suggested she considered what followed a setback.

“You can’t blame yourself,” Brother Qown said. “Besides, you weren’t wrong. You said it yourself. If you had killed Tamin at that point, his men would have shot you. Do you think Dedreugh would have canceled the tournament? Do you think the warden’s ‘voice’ Senera would have done so? No. All of Ninavis’s people would have ended up burned at the stake.”

“Do you think the citizens of Mereina would consider that trade fair?” Janel countered. “All those people dead, in exchange for fewer than a dozen lives?”

“That spell wasn’t your doing. You cannot take responsibility.”

“Taking responsibility is my job. I caused this by revealing Dedreugh’s true nature as a demon.”

“Then you must try to make it right as best you can. I think Relos Var and Senera would be quite amused to see you shouldering the guilt for their crimes.”

Janel stopped walking.

“Aren’t I right, though?” he pressed.

“I just … I hadn’t…” She shook herself, and her eyes regained their focus. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Anyway, we have other matters to discuss.”

She began walking again. “We do?”