Kushiel's Chosen

foretelling in the Temple of Asherat-of-the-Sea, and prayed her words held true. I had done as she bid, remembering what they had named me among the Unforgiven. Ten years' peace, she had promised; one, I thought, for every man I sent to his death outside the City of Elua.
    Messengers rode out day and night, royal couriers proclaiming the news throughout the realm, laying to rest false rumors and potential uprisings. Ghislain no Trevalion-for so he was called, now, formally adopted into his father-in-law's household-rode to Azzalle, vowing to see a ship across the Straits to carry a letter and full report to Drustan mab Necthana at Bryn Gorrydum. 'Twould be no mean feat, for the winter crossing was dangerous, but no one knew if the rumor had reached Alba's shores and Ysandre feared Drustan might believe her dead. It was a hardship on her to be parted from him at this time.
    I felt it keenly, for I had never been more glad to have Joscelin at my side. It had been a bittersweet pain, returning to my charming little house. My kitchen-mistress Eugenie embraced me like a mother and wept over our return; for joy at our safety, and again for sorrow at the loss of Remy and Fortun. We felt their absence deeply there, all of us. I missed hearing Remy's voice lifted in song from unexpected quarters of the house, missed seeing Fortun in the sitting room, dark, steady eyes glancing up from the map of Troyes-le-Mont on which he'd worked so hard. They had been my solace and my comrades, my chevaliers, during those days.
    It was hardest of all on Ti-Philippe, who had lost his dearest friends. I offered to release him from my service, after paying him many months' wages in arrears, but he refused.
    "Who could I possibly serve after you, my lady?" he asked with a ghost of a smile. "I've enough stories to tell, I won't need spend coin in the wineshops for years to come. Anyway, they wouldn't like it if I did. Phèdre's Boys are loyal, after all."
    So I sent him to Montrève to see how my lamentably neglected estate was faring; of course, it was thriving in my absence, under the able care of my seneschal and his wife. But they feted him and made much of him, begging him for news, and it did him a great deal of good to play at being lord of the manor for a time.
    There were other, more joyous reunions, of course; Thelesis de Mornay, whom I accounted a dear friend, and my old mentor, Cecilie Laveau-Perrin, whom I loved equally well. It took Cecilie all of a heartbeat's time to assess the change in Joscelin's and my relationship and grasp our hands in hers, glowing with heartfelt approval.
    "Oh my dears, you have set aside your differences! Nothing could make me happier."
    Joscelin raised his eyebrows, smiling at her with genuine fondness. "Are you a sorceress, my lady Cecilie, to see as much?"
    "No, beautiful man." Cecilie patted his cheek affectionately. "I am a Servant of Naamah, who rewards those who serve her true with vision to see what others would hold concealed in their hearts. Remember it well, if ever you are tempted to leave Phèdre again."
    "It will not be soon," Joscelin said softly. "That much, I may promise."
    We went too to see the Rebbe, Nahum ben Isaac. The number of Yeshuites in the City of Elua had grown thinner; several hundred had departed during the summer months, seeking their destiny in a far northern land. There had been some trouble in the City; not much, for Ysandre had heeded my plea and ordered the young Yeshuite hotbloods to be dealt with gently so long as they were not in clear violation of the law. We were not Serenissimans. No, they had gone voluntarily, and it left the Yeshuite community older and sadder. What the Rebbe feared had come to pass; the Children of Yisra-el were divided.
    "I am sorry, Master," I said to the Rebbe, sitting on a stool at his feet.
    "So am I, young Phèdre nó Delaunay," he said sadly. "So am I. Adonai alone knows which of us is right, and betimes I pray it is not I." He looked unsmiling at Joscelin. "It is said that in La Serenissima, you put weapons in their hands, apostate, and taught them to fight."
    "True words, Father." Joscelin met his gaze, unflinching.
    "And yet you have forsaken the path of Yeshua."
    Joscelin shook his head. "I do not disdain the teachings of Yeshua, Father. What I have learned, I value greatly. But î am D'Angeline, and Cassiel's chosen. Though it lead to perdition and beyond, I must follow my heart, and not the Mashiach." Reaching into a purse at his