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    Still not talking to him. Stewart Cantel was somewhere between proud and exasperated.


    Well, she is technically his prisoner, Shade replied. It wasn’t the first time they had shared an exchange like this, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last.


    Yes, but she could at least not rely on you to fill the empty air, the former High Commander groused. She is a princess, after all. If her mother saw the way she’s behaving, she would be mortified.


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    Politics, Stewart Cantel said. He probably specializes in something that the rest of the mages deem unworthy of respect or acclaim, and he probably has no motivation to play the games the others do. You saw that he was sitting at the guards’ table. If he had any interest at all in advancement, he would be with the other Shapers.


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    Of course he’s sorry now. Stewart Cantel would have spat if he had been able. Nim, Ashur, and I all told him it wasn’t secure, but no, they wouldn’t listen.


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    Boy, I bet that makes you feel like a jerk. Shade grinned. He was beginning to know who the people in the mirror were through the former High Commander’s memories.


    Shut up. Stewart Cantel seemed annoyed not only that the King had repeated his own sentiments back at him, but that Shade had realized that it affected him as much as it did. It seems to be only the royal family, with Analya and Leodric. Too bad we didn’t interrupt a full council meeting. It would be nice to know for sure who took my place.


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    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


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    You seem to have made an impression on Analya. Stewart Cantel seemed as confused about that development as Shade himself felt about seeing the woman.


    Yeah, I suppose I would at that, Shade replied. We can talk about it later.


    Alright, Cantel said, but Shade could tell that the former High Commander didn’t like knowing that there were things that Shade had kept from him.


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