THREE DROPS OF BLOOD by Michelle L. Levigne Page A

her
shoulders.
    When the woman raised her head a few moments later, her eyes had lost the white mist
of Seeing and she looked flushed, as if with a fever. She shivered and sweat beaded her
forehead.
    "Did I kill it?" she whispered, pressing against the High Scholar in visible terror.
    Mrillis wished he could take the girls away. Chances were good Megassa had no idea
this was her mother, but he knew from experience that their party would only escape Trevissa's
notice, and the hysterics that sometimes followed a Seeing, if they stood perfectly still.
    "It needs to die. It's weak. It's poisoned. It's a curse. No one wants it. Efrin doesn't want
it. I need to stop the blood. I can give Efrin a son. Get rid of the baby before anyone knows she's
here, and I can give him a son. We can save the World if I give him a son. I can't give him a
daughter, or we're doomed." Her voice broke on a sob and she pressed her face into Deyral's dull
brown robes.
    "Efrin is safe," Deyral said. He lifted his gaze to meet Mrillis' for a moment.
    "Good. I do love him, you know. That's how they used me. I already wanted him. He
liked me. That's how they were able to trick him. If he had hated me, if I had hated him, it
wouldn't have worked. Love makes everything weak, don't you know?"
    "Come along. Back to your cottage. It's cold out here. You don't want to get sick." He
stood, easing Trevissa up from the ground.
    "Yes, I have to get strong. I have to stay healthy. Efrin needs a son. The third drop of
blood." A cackle burst from her lips, shaking her body with enough force she nearly twisted free
of Deyral's hold. "I can save the World. I can. I can."
    "Of course you can," Nalla said, gliding forward, arms outstretched and pale green
shimmers of healing magic streaking up her arms from her fingertips.
    Mrillis nearly lost his breath at the surge of admiration for her strength and courage and
selflessness, to reach out to Trevissa when she had to hate the woman. Nalla had been Belissa's
guard and support during her pregnancy, and had wept herself ill when Belissa died. She loved
Meghianna as if the child had come from her own flesh. The fact the girl would be Queen of
Snows someday was a distant, foggy consideration to the fact that she was the daughter of her
dear friend, who had likely died at the hands of Trevissa, her cousin.
    "I have the girls," he said, when Nalla hesitated and glanced back.
    She nodded, face creasing in concern, and turned back to her patient.
    "I don't like her," Megassa pronounced, her voice a hard-edged whisper, shattering the
fragile silence into shards.
    "No, but you should pity her. No one chooses madness, or to be used by the enemy until
your mind and soul are raw and stretched out of all semblance to anything human," Gynefra said
in a gravelly voice. She took hold of Megassa's hand. "That's enough for now. We'll tend to our
errand tomorrow. Let's explore, first, shall we?"
    Mrillis could have laughed at the eagerness that lit the girl's face, but the oppressive
sorrow that remained on the shore after Deyral and Nalla led Trevissa away choked him.
    "Meggi, do you want to come?" Megassa said.
    "I think I'd rather stay with Lord Mrillis," the older girl said. "May I?"
    "Of course." He held out his hand. Hers was cold inside its glove, and felt smaller than
usual when she gave it into his grip. "Come. Master Breylon's quarters are a good place to
rest."
    They walked up the slope from the shore, while Gynefra and two of her women warriors
headed to the left along the shore, aimed toward the piles of rocks that had once been
watchtowers and fortresses, long before Mrillis' great-grandfather had been a student on the
island. The rest of their party led the horses away, following them up the slope to the village and
the waiting stables. Meghianna walked with her head bowed, her face hidden by the folds of her
hood.
    "I think it's good Megassa doesn't know that was her mother," the girl said, when they
reached the well in the center