Kyra put her hand upon his arm with warmth and sympathy.
He was such a great Lord and yet at this moment to her woman’s heart he was like a lost and desolate child.
‘This war,’ Khu-ren said, ‘has roots in other matters than your guilt. People used to privilege are fighting to keep it against the tide of change. This is an old story, nothing to do with you or what you have done.’
Guiron sighed.
‘There is no time for games. What you say is only partly true. The flame that sets this mess of straw on fire is Panora. She lives only as long as my guilt lives. She plots only as long as my guilt is not expurgated.’
‘I have often wondered why you have kept her by your side,’ Kyra said thoughtfully. ‘Was there no way...?’
‘No way,’ Guiron answered gloomily. ‘Nya thinks he comes to reclaim his
