Chapter Twenty-One
‘He is no such thing,’ said Ilsevel, charging herself to speak clearly, and without fear, for to show herself afraid would be a grave mistake.
‘Then you come to offer yourself?’ said the voice, and shadows flowed over Ilsevel’s feet. They were cold and damp, like old pondwater, and she suppressed a strong desire to back away. ‘Better and better.’
‘Of course not,’ she snapped. ‘You forget yourself. You forget your place.’
‘And what,’ whispered the voice, ‘is my place now, Lady Silver?’
Phineas drew nearer, though whether he sought to offer or seek protection she could not have said. ‘You know this — this — creature?’ he hissed.
She did. There was no mistaking that voice. ‘It has been many years,’ she said, hoping Phineas would be satisfied with so brief an answer.
