"thank you, sergei." natasha shot him a smile as she handed the charm disk to adriana, who wasted no time cracking it open. immediately the stains on her wedding dress disappeared, as did the small wrinkles from where she had been kneeling. the lines of strain around her eyes disappeared as well. she looked perfect. it might be an illusion, but it was a damned good one.

what is taking so long, niece? queen lopaka's imperious voice intruded on my thoughts. normally she's gentle, but now she was worried and irritated.

we've had a bit of a ... complication. everything is fine. but we need another minute or two, and arkady and olga won't be attending.

there was a pause but then she answered smoothly. i will warn the musical director. you are sure adriana is all right? her voice in my head is very faint.

i looked at my hand. no wonder the queen had been able to reach me through the privacy shields. she gave me her ring.

oh. the queen's mental voice didn't sound any too pleased about that. i hoped i hadn't gotten adriana in trouble with her mother. but i didn't have time to worry about that now. as she'd so aptly pointed out, we were running late.

"let's go, folks. the queen just told me the natives are getting restless."

king dahlmar and adriana knelt. the priest crowned them, wrapped their hands together with ribbon, and spoke his part very quickly before unwrapping their hands and moving out of the way.

adriana hit the secret button again. when the door appeared, lars and thorsen dragged anton's corpse and the struggling spawn into the secret room.

sergei, natasha, and i set to work grabbing rags and cleaning blood from the foyer floor and furnishings.

the results weren't perfect, but when we threw the bloodied rags into the treasure closet and closed the entrance, i looked around carefully. if you hadn't known what had happened, you probably wouldn't notice, particularly with the crowds of people that would be soon passing through.

"it will do," adriana assured me. "now, everyone take your places."

igor came up beside me, taking my arm. "do i look okay?" i asked.

"you look lovely," he assured me. "no blood anywhere."

"oh good."

35

the rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch. of course there were questions raised about where olga and arkady had gone, but igor lied beautifully, telling everyone that the prince and his daughter had insisted on standing guard over the newly discovered treasures. we'd actually left gunnar thorsen outside the secret room; igor had cast an illusion on him to make him look like prince arkady.

it seemed like a thin excuse to me; after all, the treasures had been safely hidden for many years without anyone guarding them. but if anyone doubted igor, they didn't say anything. probably because there were too many other things going on.

it was finally done. king dahlmar and queen adriana were now fully wed in the eyes of the church and by the laws of both of their countries. i was out of a job and i couldn't have been more elated.

dahlmar and adriana had left the reception early. by the smiles of some of the guests as the newlyweds departed, people thought they were getting an early start on their honeymoon, but i knew they were going to take care of questioning arkady and to finish tidying up what had happened earlier. i expected thorsen, igor, and creede's people had already cleaned out the treasure closet and conveyed the hidden riches, the corpse, and the prisoner to their appropriate destinations. i wasn't in the loop anymore and, god help me, i didn't want to be.

i was done to the point of being crispy. i'd put on a good show during the church service and danced a couple of dances at the party, and i was more than ready to go back to my room, take the pretty pink pills dr. shablinski had given me, and try to sleep.

"you look like you need a drink, and you're walking like your feet hurt," bruno observed as he led me off the dance floor.

"i do and they do."

"then sit. i'll be right back."

it sounded like such a wonderful idea i did just that. hoping no one would notice, i reached down to slip off my offending footwear. the relief was immediate and intense enough that i closed my eyes and gave a deep, pleasurable sigh. a soft cough, and i opened my eyes to find queen lopaka and gunnar thorsen had joined me. lopaka sank gracefully into the seat across from me. gunnar stood over her protectively, making sure we could speak without interruption.

"i wanted to thank you in person," the queen said, speaking softly enough that no one passing by could hear. i was honored by the fact that she spoke aloud, knowing that i preferred audible speech to voices in my head. adriana's gift to me hadn't changed that-yet.

"it was my pleasure." i smiled at her.

"i appreciate it more than you can know. my prophet tells me that adriana and dahlmar will be very happy and that he will live a long and prosperous life; when he dies, he will know that their grown son will safely ascend to the throne." she smiled. "i am looking forward to being a grandmother, and i am delighted to see my daughter so joyful."

"so am i."

"tell me, what can i do to repay you? surely there is something."

i thought about it for a moment. what did i want from the queen of the sirens?

the answer came to me. something had been bothering me, nagging at the back of my mind since the interrogation of the man who'd tried to kidnap my grandmother. i was, at least in part, responsible for the hatred that had caused the guardians of the faith to be formed. my actions had been a catalyst. i couldn't change the past. but i might be able to make amends for my part of what had happened. i at least needed to try.

"i need to know something."

"yes?"

"when a mind is broken by siren power, can it be fixed? can they ever be normal again?"

the light left lopaka's face. i felt her mind focus on mine. why do you ask this, niece?

oh, she was not happy. she didn't want to show it, not in the middle of the reception, so she'd switched to mental speech. i felt bad. this was a party, a celebration, and i was ruining it for her. never mind. i'm sorry. this isn't the time. we can talk about it later.

no. something is weighing on your mind and conscience. i want to help you with this burden if i can. tell me.

so i did, mind to mind. i told her how my battle with eirene had destroyed the minds of the men we were fighting over, turning them into drooling idiots. i confessed that i'd been too ashamed, too afraid, to check on them, and that my actions and eirene's had been part of the root cause of the terrorist movement against the sirens.

i felt tears burn at my eyes as i confessed to her. i didn't mean to harm those men. i want to fix it, to help them if i can. but i don't know how. i don't even know if it is possible.

she let out a slow breath and looked around the room as if seeking an answer. celia, there were good reasons why we sirens retreated to our islands. it wasn't just to protect ourselves. we were protecting humanity as well. our powers can be very terrible. it is a great burden to try to use them wisely.

i was afraid of that. but if i could find those men, is there anything i can do for them?

i do not know. but if you wish it, we can try.

i do. very much.

then we will speak of this again. in a few weeks, after you've had a chance to recover.

thank you.

you're very welcome. she smiled. i see the mage deluca coming with your drinks. i believe i'll leave you to his tender care.

bruno was coming all right, and he wasn't alone. sergei and natasha were behind him, holding hands. gilda and isaac levy, along with lars, brought up the rear of the little procession. bruno toted a pitcher filled with what looked suspiciously like margaritas, and the rest were carrying plates of food, some of which it appeared they'd imposed on the kitchen to run through a blender.

adriana's ring pulsed on my finger and i knew without being told that they were all coming to cheer me up and to distract me from my troubles. it was very nice of them and i was sure they'd be terribly disappointed if it didn't work.

well, i couldn't let that happen.

so i drank ... a little. i had liquified roast and vegetables. later, lars even enticed me out onto the dance floor.

tomorrow i'd have to face my problems. but that was tomorrow. tonight i let my friends help me relax and live in the moment, and if it wasn't perfect, it was still pretty damned good.