She looked up. "You would do that for me?”

Sadness darkened his lavender eyes to purple. "Of course I would. It pains me you would think otherwise."

She winced. "I didn't mean it like that, Rain." She pulled her hands from his and twisted them together, fixing her gaze on her tightly clenched fingers. "Forgive me. I'm very tired. I didn't sleep well last night even before that dream."

He put a hand under her chin and lifted her face with gentle insistence. "Ellysetta, you've been troubled since we left Orest. But I can't help you if you won't tell me what is wrong."

"I know. And I mean to tell you. I just need a little time." She glanced at Gaelen, who sat nearby, sharpening his blades.

Rain saw the look and his spine went stiff. He withdrew his hands from hers. "You need time before telling me, but you've already discussed your troubles with vel Serranis?" The rise of his tairen rumbled in his voice.

Ellysetta bit her lip. "It's not like that. I went to Gaelen in confidence, aiyah, but to ask him for information, not to share it.”

"What concerns do you have that you cannot share with me?"

Her shoulders slumped. It was no use. She had to tell him now, whether she was ready or not. "I went to Gaelen yesterday morning for information about my Marks."

"What sort of information?"

She sighed. "We're outside the Fading Lands, outside whatever protection the Mists might have offered me. I bear four Mage Marks. Two more and the Mage will own my soul."

"That won't happen." He looked up, his eyes fierce. "I won't let it."

She laid her palm on the side of his race and smiled sadly. "Beloved, if we can't complete our bond, how could you possibly stop it?" He would die to protect her. Of that, she had no doubt, but it wouldn't be enough. "The risk is there, whether we want to admit it or not. So I went to Gaelen to ask what I should expect, and what sort of danger I would pose to the rest of you."

She motioned Gaelen over, then called the rest of her quintet as well. "Bel, Tajik, Gil, Rijonn, come closer. You four need to hear this, too."

When the warriors had gathered, she nodded to Gaelen. "Tell Rain and my cha'kor what happens to people with each successive Mage Mark. Tell them what you told me yesterday."

The former dahl'reisen lifted his chin. "As I told the Feyreisa, the first three Marks give the Mage access to the soul only during times of weakness. After that, the fourth and fifth Marks break down the victim's will and the barriers to his"—Gaelen paused, and a small tic near the spot where his dahl’reisen scar had once edged the corner of his eye made his lashes twitch—"or her—soul and mind."

“Tell Rain what will happen to me."

Gaelen held Rain's gaze and revealed the truth with blunt honesty. "With four Marks, she will begin to have thoughts and reactions that are not her own. She must learn to guard her mind because the Mage will be able to sense strong emotions and use them against her. He will use that power to sow doubt and fear, to isolate her from you and all others who would protect her. He will coax her into weaving Azrahn again so he can place more Marks upon her. After the fifth Mark, it will not be safe to have her witness military planning or be privy to any information we do not want the Mage to know. He will be able to pull it from her and use what she knows to his advantage."

With each word that fell from Gaelen's lips, Ellysetta felt Rain's temper rise, born of fear for his mate. "There won't be a fifth Mark," he interrupted. His eyes had begun to glow, the elongated pupils narrowing to catlike slits.

Ellysetta laid a hand on his arm. "Let him finish, Rain."

"At five Marks," Gaelen continued, "the Mage will be able to use her senses as extensions of his own. His hold on her is strongest at night and especially in her dreams. That is when Ellysetta will be both the most dangerous and in the most danger, because at those times he will be able to exercise a portion of his power over her. If he gains access to her mind while she is dreaming, he will be able to control her actions. He could command her to come to him, to lay a trap for any of us, even to kill."

"When you were with the dahl'reisen, did you ever see that happen?" Ellysetta asked.

"Only at the beginning. And only a handful of times. We quickly learned how many Marks a dahl’reisen could bear before he became a danger to the rest of us."

"How many was that?" Gil asked, his starry black eyes merciless and intent.

Gaelen glanced at Ellysetta. "Three."

Rain's spine went stiff. "Ellysetta is no danger to us. You will not even let the thought enter your mind. She is the Feyreisa. She was sent here to save the tairen and the Fey. She has sacrificed much to do just that."

She put a hand over his. "Las, Rain. Truth doesn't change just because we don't like it. It's better to know the worst that can happen so we can prepare for it." Even though Gaelen was only repeating what he'd told her yesterday, her heart was fluttering in her chest like a trapped bird, and her palms had gone clammy. "Gaelen, did some of those dahl'reisen become dangerous after the fourth Mark?"

Gaelen waged a silent, icy battle of wills with Rain before nodding. "Aiyah. After that, we took no chances. Anyone with four Marks died on his own blade—or ours."

Rain growled and leapt to his feet. He dragged Ellysetta up with him and shoved her behind him, putting his body and his blades between her and the rest of the quintet. "Try it, vel Serranis, and you will be the one to die. I promise you."