"Kieran is right," Rain agreed. He nodded, and with obvious reluctance, Marissya put her hand back on her brother. "Answer his question, Gaelen.”

The former dahl'reisen hesitated, as if weighing his words, then shrugged. "Aiyah, the Brotherhood and I have executed a number of Celierians.”

Marissya stifled a gasp. "Truth. Oh, Gaelen. Why?”

"They were Mage-claimed. We could not let them live to spread their evil.”

"How could you know they were Mage-claimed?" Kieran challenged. "Did you personally see these peasants in the company of Mages, carrying out their will? Because we all know there's no way to tell who is in the service of the Mages until they act.”

"That's not entirely true, young jita’nos.”

"Your dahl'reisen have found a way to detect Mage-claiming?" Rain queried sharply. The secret, invisible power of Mage-claiming was one of the Eld's most deadly weapons.

"We have. Mage-claiming leaves marks on the claimed ones. These marks are invisible to the naked eye, even invisible to Fey vision, but they appear in the presence of Azrahn, like black shadows on the flesh over the claimed one's heart.”

"Azrahn again," Kieran spat.

"Azrahn is just magic, boy. A mystic like Spirit. Despite what all Fey have been raised to believe, it isn't evil, and weaving it won't turn you into a servant of the Dark so long as you wield it wisely and with caution." He glanced at Ellysetta and knew he must learn the truth, if only to determine how best to protect her. "Look." Before the others could react, a small, shadowy spiral sprang to life in his palm, and a chill, sickly sweet aroma wafted through the room.

Marissya cried out and fell back away from her brother. Ellysetta cried out too, as much in warning as in fear.

Twelve red Fey'cha flew fast and true.

Not quickly enough to penetrate the rapid weave that surrounded Gaelen and stopped the Fey'cha in mid-flight.

Ellysetta clutched a hand over her chest where the shock of his sudden action had made her heart all but leap out of her chest. A cold, dull ache throbbed in her left breast. Her skin tingled from lack of oxygen and the sudden rush of fear, and her teeth began to chatter. Somehow she knew Gaelen meant no harm with his weave, but her terror didn't abate.

"Stop it, Gaelen," she commanded. "Stop it now.” She pressed the palm of her hand hard over the fluttering wildness of her heart.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "As you wish, kem'falla." The former dahl'reisen bowed, and his Azrahn weave winked out.

"The rest of you, put your weapons away." Ellysetta's voice shook. By some miracle, her knocking knees did not collapse beneath her.

Slowly, with hissing reluctance, the Fey sheathed their second round of blades. A moment later, Gaelen's shields fell and the twelve red Fey'cha trapped by his weave clattered harmlessly to the floor.

As fast as Gaelen had moved a moment before, Rain moved now. In a blur of speed he was at Gaelen's throat, his long fingers wrapped tight around the other's windpipe. "What was the meaning of that display, dahl'reisen?" Rain demanded. "Is it death you seek after all?”

"If I'd meant harm, you'd all be dead already," Gaelen answered. "I only meant to prove a point.”

"By weaving the forbidden magic?”

"I wove Azrahn. Did I summon demons? Mages? Have I lost my soul again? Nei, none of those dire predictions came true. Because the magic itself is not evil.”

"It is forbidden! It is the magic never to be called!”

"Only because ancient Fey who lived and died so long ago we hold no memory of them or their reasoning said it should be so," Gaelen shot back. "Dahl'reisen don't have the benefit of hiding behind protective barriers and indulging ourselves with self-righteous adherence to laws long past their use. We survive by wit and speed and will. And we've learned that to defeat our greatest enemy, we must understand that enemy's most powerful weapon.”

With a growl, Rain released his grip on Gaelen's throat and thrust the older Fey away from him. "In the Fading Lands, we hold true to our honor and our laws. If you intend to live among us, you will do the same.”

"And if you refuse to consider change, don't expect to survive the coming war," Gaelen countered. Muttering a curse, he spun on one heel and started to pace. Halfway across the room, he stopped and cast a hard, searching glance Ellysetta's way. His shoulders slumped a little, then straightened. "I didn't summon Azrahn a moment ago just to prove a point. I did it for a different reason. Because there was something I had to know”

"Something like what, vel Serranis?" Rain growled. "Whether or not we could cut you with red before you raised your shields?”

"Nei, that was not it." He smiled faintly. "But it is good to know you can't." Sobering, he crossed the short distance to Ellysetta and went to one knee before her. He clasped her hands in his. "Kem'falla, know that I am yours. I will never betray you I will defend you beyond death itself. I would walk the Seven Hells if you asked it of me.”

Ellysetta didn't know what to say. "Beylah vo, Gaelen. I am grateful for your kindness.”

"Then forgive me, ki falla'sheisan.”

"Forgive you for what?" She frowned in confusion as Gaelen rose once more and took a step back.

"Vel Serranis?" Wary of the Fey's suspicious behavior, Rain stepped in front of Ellysetta and guided her back, away from the former dahl'reisen.