Marcus had become something of a friend to Clover as the weeks passed. When he was allowed time off every other afternoon, he would take her down to the kitchens and have one of the cooks give her the first slice of freshly baked fig bread or a taste of fruit pudding. Then they would often go down by the pond and tell each other riddles, and then dip their feet in the water. She had a surprising amount of freedom these days for still being a prisoner, and her suspicions were confirmed as Marcus opened his cell door one night.

"His Majesty would like to see you in the dining hall," he said. "I'm to escort you."

The king had already finished eaten when she got there, but half-finished dishes and plates that had yet to be taken up littered the rectangular table. He greeted her by inclining his head. "Diana."

Marcus had already left the room, so he wasn't there to soften her clenched fists or keep her from staring with all the venom of an adder at the king.

"Sit."

Her body was a magnet attracted to the opposite pole of the chair at the head of the table. She didn't dare try to scramble to her feet, though she tried in vain to wiggle her toes on the floor. Unlike with Durza, she was far less eager to push the boundaries here.

"I have decided to release you from the dungeons," he began. "You will stay in the one of the empty maid's rooms on the third floor. Do not think that this releases you from being a prisoner here."

Clover couldn't help but offer a sardonic smile. "Why are you doing this? You're not going to kill me, yet?"

The king's face was unchanged. "I have yet to decide what I am going to do with you. Until then, you are going to work as a servant to everyone else in the castle, including myself. You will learn from the other maids and servants what to do."

"And what of the Shade?"

"Durza will still be your primary master," said the king. He rolled the last bit of wine in his glass around before finishing it. "But you will now see to the guards of the castle…and as I already said, myself. You begin tomorrow afternoon. You are dismissed, Diana."

Clover didn't bother to curtsy or bow to the king before she fled from the dining hall.

That night she dreamed of Durza. Wrapped in the white sheets on the cot against the wall of her new room, she tossed and turned.

His hair was as long and red as ever, draped like a curtain down his back. His eyes glittered like poisonous rubies as he looked at her and then turned away. He was on the shore of the lake near the storehouse, his leather boots buried in mounds of sand. She didn't see herself in the dream, but she knew that she was present. The Shade touched the pendant around his neck and whispered words she did not recognize. Gray spirits washed into the air from the center of the pendant, forming into figures on the sand. Ghosts of the countless people the Shade had slain walked on the shore, some dipping their toes into the water, all with crestfallen faces and limp arms. None of them seemed to want to be there.

Dozens of ghostly bodies formed on the base of the lake, until the Shade could no longer be seen except for the dark aura around his devilish body. Among the dead spirits were two girls, one just growing into a young woman, and a much smaller one with wavy hair down to her elbows. Clover gaped at the faces of her sisters and reached out to touch them. The older on shook her head, her braids swaying loosely in the wind. Her eyes were sad and lonely, and they reflected the distant moonlight in the sky. The young one heaved a sigh and ran out to the water, letting the waves wash over her calves and dampen her tunic.

Clover woke with a gasp, and found that her eyes were filled with tears. Something burned in her pocket, and she removed the silver piece and tossed it into the air. "Arget risa."

Instead of falling back into her hand, it stayed in place inches above her palm. She untangled herself from the sheets and padded down the hallway, turning the piece over and over with her frozen fingers.

The lake was still that night, nearly white from the moon's glow. No waves stirred its surface, but the sand on the bank seemed to be softer than usual. She looked at the mass of pine trees on the far side of the water, turning the piece again.

"Arget risa."

The coin did as she asked.

Her heartbeat slowed from its erratic pace. There were no ghosts here. Her sisters were safe at home. It had only been a dream…hadn't it?

She didn't know how long she stood there with the midnight breeze sweeping her hair and casting tiny ripples on the water. The silver piece in her hand seemed to grow hotter over time, but she continued to raise it into the air until she began to grow weary.

"Arget risa…arget…" She let the piece drop back into the hand and returned it to her pocket. She was much too tired to keep the magic up, though it soothed her. She lumped to her knees in the sand, trying to think of something other than her sisters' grey faces spawning on the bank of the water.

"I see you got it to work," said a voice. "I thought you would."

The Shade stood beside her, close enough that she could smell the leather of his boots. "I want to learn more magic, Shade."

The moment she said it, she knew it was true. It had been a few weeks since he had first taught her what she could do now, and they hadn't spoken of magic since. In fact, Durza had been absent most of those two weeks, off doing she didn't know what. She hated herself for asking him about it now. She corrected immediately.

"Sorry, if you wanted to teach me, I would like to learn more magic." She inched closer to the lake and removed her shoes. The water felt beautiful against her tired feet, and she closed her eyes and leaned back.

"I suppose if you had enough patience to listen, then yes, I could teach you more."

His answer came as a shock to her. She looked at him in the dim light of the moon, brow raised, and noticed that his usual aura was…nearly undetectable. Or was it even there, anymore?

He knelt down beside her. His eyes seemed far less menacing now. The breeze picked up and cast little waves cascading across the lake; water splashed against her feet. She felt the ends of his long red hair brush against her elbow.

"I know what it is you want," he said after a while. Clover shifted her body to face him, waiting. "I know what you wanted when you broke into the storehouse. You were looking to make a sleeping draught, something that certainly cannot be made by any novice magician.

"You were intending on somehow slipping it to King Galbatorix, subduing him long enough to kill him. You were then going to distract the security enough to escape undetected, and were going to make a run for home."

These weren't questions. He was right.

"You want to go back home. You will do anything it takes, though you have started to give up hope that you will make it." He paused, and the wind brushed his hair against her elbow again. She did not shy away. He continued. "You have always been interested in magic. It had always captivated you, and you have always wanted to learn its secrets. I can teach you these secrets, Diana, if you let me."

"Clover." Her voice was hoarse.

"What?"

She swallowed and tried again. "My name is Clover," she said. It was strange to have actually told him. She watched his eyes for a sign of anything…dark…of…anything, really. She only saw the glimpse of astonishment that quickly became a tiny smile, a light inside of his eyes.

"You never seemed like a Diana."

"Can you…help me become, ah…a magician? To be better at magic?" She took the hot silver piece and passed it between her hands. "I can…I can serve you more, I can…I'll make you breakfast early every morning, and I'll have the storeroom cleaned whenever you use it, and I'll gather ingredients or books or—"

He didn't put a hand on her knee, but it sure felt like he had. The flow of her words had been cut off abruptly—she suspected he must have whispered something to silence her. His eyes met hers and he said in a passive voice, "I will teach you."

She was still searching for the aura that always surrounded him, but could only see the sand and grass and trees behind him. She looked down, not willing to show him the smile that she was sure he could see anyway. "How…how was your…wherever you went?" She wasn't expecting him to answer.

But he did.

"I had some business to attend to near Surda," he said, shifting. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything beforehand. You had things to do here, yes?"

"I kept myself busy. Some of the guards are nice."

"I suppose they are."

There was a long moment of quiet between them, with nothing more than the swaying of the trees around the lake. "I've been moved out of the dungeons," she finally said. "Galbatorix wanted me out, I guess. I have my own room now and everything! Well, it comes with more work to do…I'm serving His Majesty himself now. And his soldiers, as well. I don't know what it was that made him release me. He says he doesn't know what he's going to do with me, yet."

"Mm. Perhaps he'll have you killed."

"Actually, I thought that if anyone would have me killed, it would be you, and you'd be the one to do it. Long before he would, anyway."

"Hm."

She wondered how late it was. She was still half expecting the silvery gray ghosts to erupt from the Shade's pendant, which…he wasn't wearing it tonight. She bit her lip.

"You seem different."

"Hm."

"'Hm' is not an answer, Shade," she said. She wrapped her arms around her knees. "Hang on. Why aren't you berating me for speaking to you like a friend? Where's the forced entry into my head?"

He was silent for a moment, staring at the soft white sand.

"Perhaps we could…be friends."

Her eyes widened, and she almost laughed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Clover…" His eyes were almost hazel now, and for a moment she wondered if she had only imagined that they were ever as red as blood. "I will show you how to make the sleeping draught potion…and teach you the words in the Ancient Language…but you must swear that you won't use magic to harm the king."

"Swear?"

"In the Ancient Language."

It was definitely unexpected, but she agreed. He told her the words to say, and though they still tasted like an overripe fruit on her tongue, she promised not to harm Galbatorix with the magic that the Shade taught her.

"I will call upon you in the next few days," he told her. He fished in his pocket for a second before coming up with something. He passed her a thin gold chain that sparkled in the moonlight. "This will ward off any nightmares and allow you to sleep better. Now enjoy your new room…and go back to sleep."

She couldn't help but think later that night, as she curled up on her cot with the gold chain around her neck, that the Shade had had something to do with her new living arrangements. She didn't entertain the thought for long.

True to what Durza had said, she did sleep much better that night. Instead of seeing the pained expressions on her younger sister's faces, she saw them laughing and playing and singing songs, just as they had months ago before their eldest sister had left them. Fresh tears covered her face the next morning, but they were happy, longing tears. She missed her sister terribly.

She wondered if the Shade had any charms for crying all the time.