and heart to a strangerand treating him like a son. Riodans lack of gratitude andbetrayal of Hirlens belief in his honor and goodness were toDylens eyes beneath contempt and thus unforgivable.Hechecked on his father before heading for the Seralye. Hirlen lookedso pallid and frail, Dylen feared he already had one foot in thegrave. Dylen leaned down and kissed his clammy brow.Hirlenopened his eyes and gazed tiredly at his son. Im sorry, hesaid in the barest of whispers.Theresnaught to apologize for, Adda,Dylen softly replied. This isnt your fault. Now put suchnonsense out of your mind and get yourself some rest, all right? AndI shall bring home a box of sweetmeats just for you.Hirlenmanaged to curl his lips into a faint smile at the loving butridiculous offer before sliding back into the half conscious statethat had been his lot since Aron began dosing him with opiates toease his pain. Dylen straightened up, his eyes stinging as his gazedlong at his father. Would Hirlen survive the night? Deitys blood,would he even be alive when Dylen came home from work?Tarqinquietly came to his side and touched his elbow. Youll be late,he murmured.Sendfor me at once if-if he... Dylen swallowed. I will, Tarqinpromised.** * *Dylenwalked briskly to the Seralye, forcibly shedding the aura of sorrowand anxiety that shrouded him. It would not do for the clubsguests to be troubled by his problems. That was not why theyfrequented the Seralye.Reachingthe club, he was surprised to find Olfen the doorkeeperapologetically turning away guests. The Deir explained that hedbeen instructed to do so but he had no inkling of the reason. All heknew was that a group of richly attired enyrahad arrived about a half hour ago, and shortly after, Keon had comeout and told him not to accept any more guests for the evening.Dylenentered the premises, frowning in puzzlement. As he did, he glimpsedDeira inwhatappeared to be soldiery garb standing unobtrusively in the shadows ofthe alleys flanking the club. That piqued his curiosity further.Hewas mounting the stairs to the second floor when Keon came rushingdown to meet him halfway. The secretary excitedly grabbed him by thearm.ThankVeres youve arrived! he exclaimed in hushed tones. Hurrynow, we have important guests. Veryimportant guests!Keonall but shoved him up the stairs ahead of him.Intrigued,Dylen said, Olfen claims you arent accepting any more guests.Theyhad us close the club, Keon confirmed. Paid for its use for thewhole night. You should have seen Zaraels face when they made therequest!Ican imagine. Where is everyone? Dylen asked when they reached thesecond floor. There was a marked absence of people moving about.Readyingthe bedchambers, Keon told him. They said theyd heard naughtbut high praise for our hethare.That they wished to sample their skills. If only youd comeearlier, I wager there wouldve been a fair fight for yourservices.Whoare they?Dylen asked as he and Keon headed for the Seralyes best andlargest taproom.Royalty,Dy! The Ardan and his kin, can you believe it? Dylen sucked in hisbreath. And they came because?Acousin of the Ardan is celebrating his majority and, I heard, theinheritance of a considerable fortune, too. I think hes the son ofthe Chief Counsellor.