"I also have an announcement," Ildevar stood when Willem sat down. "I have approval from the Grand Alliance Council, and it has been duly recorded in the Alliance records that Thiskil now is the sole property of Reah Desh Nilvas. Thiskil has been granted membership in the Reth Alliance and is currently a member in good standing, with taxes paid for the next one hundred turns. Reah's name has been written in the records as Queen of Thiskil, and she may allot citizenship as she sees fit." Ildevar gave me a glowing smile. It wasn't anything close to what Ry could do but I gaped anyway.

"Uh, thank you," I said as politely as I could. Great. I was Queeatwn wen of a nearly dead planet. I'd seen it myself not that long ago. Perhaps five years or so. It took a long while for a planet to come back from the dead, it seems. And I didn't have sufficient funds to do anything to said planet, even if there was anything there to work with. Ildevar took his seat.

"And I have a confession to make," Kifirin stood.

"And I wish to hear it," another being appeared, clothed in light so bright it hurt my eyes. I blinked as he dampened the light, appearing humanoid although he still glowed. "Go ahead, child, tell them. I am waiting."

"Of course, Father," Kifirin bowed respectfully to the other. I blinked again. Kifirin had a parent? Where had he been all this time? "I made a promise long ago that I wouldn't interfere with the Dark Realm," Kifirin sighed. "Only I have broken that promise time and again during Reah's lifetime. Mostly I meddled with her life only, but the promise was broken. So many things I did not intend occurred while I slept for many thousands of years. And, in an effort to bring those things back in line with the master plan without direct interference, I placed the burden upon one. She came through for me every time, although she should have walked away long ago. The daughter of my heart flung a few insults in my direction from time to time, but it was much less than I deserved. She then went to perform the duties I needed her to perform anyway, and never asked anything from me in exchange. But that is not the announcement I wished to make. I meddled in the worst way possible with her life, to get everything I wanted from her. I made her pregnant twice, without the benefit of lying with her mate. I did this to keep a promise I made to another. And then I did the worst thing of all." Kifirin hung his head.

"Tell her. She deserves to know," Kifirin's parent coaxed softly.

"I arranged to hand Reah's daughters to Jayd and Glinda, so they might save the High Demon race. I also muted the love and affection in all her mates," Kifirin muttered, "to keep her on Kifirin. I kept them away from her as much as I could. Made it seem as if that were the proper thing to do and the right way to treat her. I came today to take it back." Kifirin lifted dark eyes to me, and they were filled with stars. "I cannot control your fate from now on, little one. My precious one. You are taken away from me. I have been forbidden from interfering with you from this point forward. You will only speak with me if you desire it." Light formed around Kifirin then and blew outward toward all of us seated at the table.

"Thanks," I said, as every one of my mates now stared at me in shock, as if they were seeing me for the first time in a very long time. As I suppose they were. "I'm leaving now." I skipped away as Ry reached out to stop me.

Gishi trees lined the dark soil on either side of a long row as I walked toward the small house I'd lived in for more than twenty years. Many of my things were still there—small things. Little gifts from my daughters when they were young, a few bits and pieces of jewelry and all my rings from my mates had been left behind when I'd gone on assignment.

I wasn't sure any of those rings would be worn after today, but that remained to be seen. I walked through the back door into the cooler interior of the house, getting quite a shock. A strange woman stood at the kitchen sink, preparing a meal with my dishes and tools. Those were the things I hadn't skimped on. They were the best I could afford, especially the knives. This one was using a filleting knife to slice gishi fruit.

"Can I help you?" she asked, not sounding friendly.

"I came to get my things," I said.

"What things? This house came furnished. Everything in it is mine to use."

"What about my clothing and jewelry?" A curl of smoke escaped my nostrils.

"The clothing and the rest of the junk is out on the trash heap," she pointed the knife at me. "I found no jewelry."

"There was jewelry here. Did Garde take it?" I knew she was lying; I just wasn't prepared to point it out yet.

"I have no idea who Garde is. I suggest you take this up with his majesty, King Jayd. There's nothing here that belongs to you."

"I bought that knife you're using," I nodded toward it. "It's a fine-edged filleting knife. It wasn't meant to be used to cut fruit. Where's the trash heap?"

"On the west side, over by the piles of trimmed brush. My husband is in charge of these groves, now, I'll have you know. He'll throw you out of here when he comes in for lunch."

"Your husband can try to throw me out," I snapped at her before skipping away.

They'd burned my things. Clothing, little gifts, everything they hadn't wanted or thought was valuable. Most of it was ash, lying in a heap beyond the cottage. I brushed tears away as I stared at the smoldering pile. Hunching my shoulders, I struggled to hold tears back before skipping to the palace in Veshtul. Jayd and Glinda were there, having lunch with my four oldest daughters and their husbands. I stood and gaped at them for several moments before the first sob came.

"Did Garde wait five minutes before he tossed out my things and gave away my jewelry?" I wept. "I found a woman using my knives in the kitchen and she said my rings weren't there when she moved in. She took them; she was lying to me. You took my daughters, didn't you? What else are you going to take from me?" My body shivered so hard it was difficult to remain standing.

Jayd was on his feet, now, a worried frown on his face. "Reah, we'll get them back," he said.

"And all the things my girls gave to me when they were small are in a trash heap and burned, Jayd. Can you give that back, too?" I couldn't stop the sobs. Raedah stood up, then.

"Mom? Are you all right?" I skipped away before I could hear any more lies.

"What the fuck just happened?" Jayd shouted inside his study. Lunch with his great-nieces had been interrupted in the worst way possible. Now, he had no way of finding Reah. He'd sent mindspeech to Garde the moment Reah had skipped away. Kifirin, Lissa and all of Reah's mates except Nefrigar had come, many of them angry and willing to shout at just about anyone. Reah's daughters were all concerned, now. They'd seen their mother break down before their eyes.

"She said the woman lied about her rings," Glinda said. "And threw all her other belongings out that she didn't take. Garde, what did you do? What did you tell that woman when she moved in?"

"I told them the house was furnished," Garde muttered, flopping onto a chair beside Jayd's desk. "I didn't think about the things Reah left behind. Assumed thnd.at ere wasn't anything important there."

"You thick-brained lummox." Aurelius' eyes were red and his fangs were out. "We were forced to ignore her for twenty-five years by that dark bastard over there, and you give away all she had left of us? Do you know what those rings are worth? Do you? Gavril's is Tiralian crystal, you idiot. It's worth millions, by itself."

"If poison work against High Demons, we would bite," Farzi declared. He and Nenzi were very close to becoming lion snakes.

"I said I wasn't thinking," Garde snapped. "We'll get her things back."

"Only if you can bend time on some of them, brother," Jayd said. "And where is Reah?"

"I think you should all come, but be very quiet and not make sudden movements." Nefrigar appeared and he looked frightened. Larentii never looked frightened. He folded all of them to the Southern Continent.

"No," Garde whispered and began to walk forward. Aurelius gripped his shoulder and jerked the High Demon back. Stay still, Aurelius' voice hissed in Garde's mind. Reah was weeping, standing on the edge of Baetrah. If a High Demon wished to end their lives, they leapt into the fiery heart of the volcano while humanoid. It was the only way, unless they were overpowered and killed by another.

"I told you she was near the breaking point," Dee said softly to Gavril, who stood, petrified, by Dee's side. "I'm sure the attack and everything else during the assignment didn't improve matters any."

"Dee, she can't kill the baby," Gavril wiped his cheek. It was wet, somehow.

"Is that all you care about?" Dee turned dark eyes on his adopted son.

"No. God, no."

"Lara'Kayan?" Nefrigar held out his hand to Reah.

Nefrigar had come. I could barely see him through my tears and the sobs wouldn't stop. I couldn't stop them, somehow. Something was broken and I didn't know how to fix it. The blow had come, as it does in any fight, when you can't take the beating any longer and you fall to your knees, beaten and uncaring what happens to you after that. Glinda and Jayd had my daughters. Had them all along. I'd only been allowed to pretend I was their mother. Now, there wasn't any evidence that I'd even existed in their lives.

"Little one?" Nefrigar held out a large blue hand to me. I stared at it for moments. If I took it, it meant more pain. More betrayal. More people taking what was mine.

"Reah, no, child." Kifirin was there, too, and weeping.

"You said I didn't have to talk to you unless I wanted it."

"My father pointed out that I shouldn't make promises I cannot keep." His tears sizzled as they hit the dry and crusty earth on Baetrah's western edge. It was the one with the cliff hanging directly above the caldera. The heat from below was drying my tears almost as quickly as I wept them.