Neya decided that she would leave Bao to stew for a while longer. She would ask Abrazo to take her to the palace the next evening. When she came back to her tent after dinner, however, she found the Forsaken sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed. Mintel had explained about the meditating state that the abrishi often sought, but Neya hadn't realised that Bao did it, too. Despite the fact that he appeared asleep, Bao looked up as soon as she walked in and stood up gallantly. "Shendla said that you wanted to talk." Was there an edge of uncertainty in his voice? No, she must have dreamed it. Bao was self-confidence incarnate.

Neya sat down in a huff. Burn the bloody woman! It had been a long day; she was exhausted. Did they have to do this now? She hadn't even had time to consider Shendla's words – and their implication. Was the Sharan truly a servant of the Light? She hadn't said so outright, but she certainly seemed determined to save her people. From whom or what, precisely, Neya couldn't say. From Rand, who would supposedly break the world? Or from the Shadow? And what exactly was Neya supposed to do about it, in any case? Bao – Demandred – would never return to the Light, surely, no matter what anyone did. He was too intent on destroying Lews Therin, and it didn't seem to change anything that Rand was not the man he despised. Bao had transferred his hatred from the original Dragon to Rand without hesitation or second thought.

Asmodean had not so much abandoned the Shadow as it had abandoned him; he therefore wasn't a good example of a Forsaken having a sudden change of heart. He simply hadn't had a choice in the matter. Besides, Jasin only did what he had to do in order to survive. Neya didn't think that, deep down, he cared much about the Light or the Shadow. He cared only about himself.

As for Ishamael… Neya didn't think he'd ever been truly evil. He'd turned to the Shadow because, in his opinion, the Dark One's triumph was inevitable, as was its direct consequence: the end of the world. It would have been futile to try to prevent it, a waste of time and energy.

It had been clear to Neya that Elan wasn't very fond of living anymore. She was convinced that he only breathed in and out because it required no conscious effort on his part. He must have been relieved to die at last.

All in all, Neya doubted that any of the Forsaken could be made to see sense. They were too far gone.

Besides, what if they did return to the Light and begged for forgiveness, for a second chance? Rand needed Asmodean to teach him, but what would he do – or had already done, as far as Neya knew – when Jasin was no longer useful to him? The man was a cold-blooded murderer, after all. They all were, no matter how much Neya wished she could ignore it, sometimes. They had strengths and virtues, concealed under layers of darkness and scorn and bitterness, but in the end, they had committed crimes that simply could not be overlooked. They were beyond redemption, at least in the eyes of…well, anyone but Neya herself, probably.

She needed more time to think about all this. Burn Shendla! As if Neya didn't have enough on her plate already.

Bao sat down in front of her before she could turn him away. "There's not much to talk about," Neya said with a resigned sigh. "I understand that things were different during the Age of Legends." Jasin had been more than happy to educate her in that regard. "Everybody bedded everybody, nobody cared. But, in case you hadn't noticed, this is not the Age of Legends," she told him dryly.

His face remained as impassive as ever. "It was not quite as you make it sound, but it was indeed different, I concede. Sexual fidelity was not as uncommon as you seem to think, however."

Neya felt herself blush. Apparently, Bao had picked up the Sharan habit of using that word without a second thought. She had never even heard the word 'sex' uttered out loud in her life before being brought to Shara. No, that's not entirely true, she amended. Jasin had been quite careless with some words. Maybe it was a thing of their Age. "People simply took the time to define the terms of their relationship," Bao went on matter-of-factly.

Oh, of course. Silly me! I should have specified that you should not hump anyone when I'm not around, Neya thought wryly. "You know, to most people, this would be a given." She was silent for a moment as she considered her next words. "I don't even know why I'm so bothered," she told him eventually. Well, she did know, but she certainly wasn't going to admit to being jealous of a bloody Darkfriend. "You and I – it was just the one time, and I don't understand why it happened in the first place." She looked up at him tentatively. "Whatever came over you, all of a sudden?"

Bao didn't look away, but he didn't answer, either. Neya gestured dismissively. "It doesn't matter. It makes more sense for you to bed the Darkfriend, anyway," she said with an involuntary grimace. Saseko was much better-looking than she was. And she was probably more…experienced in bed as well.

Bao was still silent. Neya was about to send him away – why had he come if he was not going to say anything? – when he finally spoke. "I would rather have you," he said softly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why?" she asked suspiciously. "Why me, burn you?" She passed a hand through her hair in frustration. "We have nothing in common. I mean, let's face it, you're a bloody Forsaken." She saw him tense, although she wasn't sure which word had caused him to. Well, he bloody well was! "And I'm pregnant," she added. She still wasn't sure how she felt about that, but why would he involve himself with someone who carried another man's child? Shendla must have addled his brains with her visions and premonitions, or whatever they were. "Why me?" she demanded again, more firmly this time.

"I do not know how to answer that question," Bao told her simply.

Neya stared at him in disbelief. "Look, I'm not as stupid as you seem to think. I know what Shendla told you. Do you really expect me to attach myself to you for no other reason than the fancies of someone I barely know?" Once again, Bao made no reply. She threw up her hands in irritation. "Forget it. This won't work out. It can't." Light, how could it?

Bao was gazing at her intently. Blood and ashes! Why wasn't he talking?

She was considering sending a pinching thread of Air to make him react when he spoke. "I want you. Not because Shendla said so," he added when she tried to protest. "What happened last week was entirely her idea, admittedly." Of course it was. Burn the bloody woman! "But that's irrelevant now. I could not force myself to be with you if I did not want to, no more than you could. But I do want you," he repeated, more forcefully this time. "And I was hoping you might return the feeling," he went on hesitantly. She was not imagining it this time.

His dark eyes were still fixed on hers and she had to clear her throat before speaking. Light blind him! Why did he have to be so flaming handsome? "Fine," she muttered eventually. "Suit yourself. But if it's me, it's only me."

"Very well," he replied flatly.

Neya snorted. "You'll excuse me if I don't take your word for it. If we're going to do this, I also want to sleep with you." Her eyes widened slightly when she realised what she'd said. "I mean sleep as in…sleep. As in rest. Slumber," she went on frantically, feeling her cheeks turn redder with each word.

"As you wish," Bao said with no intonation whatsoever.

"It was not a suggestion," she stated dryly. "There's something else," she went on. "I want you to tell me everything I want to know." She was going to forsake – ironically enough – her soul for him, but that didn't mean she was giving up on gathering information. It was the least she could do, and it might still come in handy. Besides, she was dying to know what was going on in the West. And there were a few other trifles that concerned her…

He scowled slightly at that. "What would you like to know?"

"Are you and Shendla…" Neya took a deep breath. "Were you two ever…?" Light! How did one go about phrasing this properly?

"Yes," Bao replied quietly. "We were lovers for a short time. A few weeks," he specified.

Until he actually said the words, Neya had not really considered the possibility. She didn't know how she felt about it. "Do you…love her?"

"No," he said without hesitation. "Not like that."

Not like that. What in the Pit of Doom did that mean? "And Saseko?"

She could have sworn that his lips twitched slightly. "She is nothing."

Neya disliked the Darkfriend, but that seemed like a harsh pronouncement. Well, she'd had her answers. She just wasn't sure what to make of them.

"What's Rand up to?" she asked. She really ought to sort her priorities – this should have been question number one.

Bao was silent for a moment. "He captured Semirhage a few days ago," he said eventually.

"Oh, good." Neya didn't try to suppress her grin. She wasn't sure what pleased her more – that Semirhage had been captured, or that Bao had admitted to it.

"She blasted his left hand to oblivion," Bao added conversationally.

Oh. That was…not so good. Poor Rand. Hopefully Nynaeve would be able to help with that…provided that she was still around. "What about the other Forsaken?"

"Osan'gar died during the cleansing of the taint. He was Aginor reincarnated," he clarified when Neya threw him a questioning look. Reincarnated? What was he saying? That the Forsaken Rand had already dispatched were being brought back to life? She'd never imagined that even the Dark One could do that. Light, was Rand aware of this? Her mind did a double-take. Could Elan…? "Balthamel was reincarnated as well," Bao went on before the thought could take proper form. "He – she – is known as Aran'gar now. The others have made no specific move that I know of," he went on carefully.

"That you know of," she repeated dubiously. That was unlikely – he had spies everywhere – but Neya let it slide. He was actually answering her questions; she couldn't let the opportunity pass. "What else is going on?"

"Nothing of import." He chewed it over for a minute. "There was news of an entire population committing suicide, but I do not think it will have any influence on present events or on the Last Battle. Seanchan is aflame with rebellion and chaos, thanks to Semirhage. Their Empress was assassinated, and the heiress cannot be found," he explained.

Well, Neya couldn't care less about the flaming Seanchan. They probably deserved all of that – and more. "An entire population killed itself?" she repeated incredulously. "Why would they do that?"

"I do not know why. I did not enquire. They were called the Amayar. They lived on Tremalking," he replied dispassionately. "A peaceful people, apparently."

Neya shook her head in dismay. "That's all? What about the Black Tower? And the White, for that matter," she added as an afterthought.

"You want to know about Taim," Bao said flatly.

How perceptive of him. "Among other things," she said with a detached shrug.

"You should not dwell on him, Neya. He has changed since you last saw him, and I do not think you would like the man he has become."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll be the judge of that, thank you. But forget about him. It doesn't matter." If something dire happened to Mazrim, she would know. Wouldn't she? Their connection was so faint that she would have thought it gone entirely, if Mazrim hadn't suddenly manifested himself the previous week, albeit briefly. "What about the other ta'veren? Mat Cauthon and Perrin Aybara?"

"I do not know. I have not been following them too closely, of late. Your friend al'Vere, the rebel Amyrlin, has been captured by the White Tower, however. She is alive and well, as far as I know," Bao added when he saw Neya's worried look. "There really is not much to tell. Unless you had a more specific concern?"

Neya shook her head. "No, I suppose not." She'd had no time to prepare her questions, but more would come in due time. "Oh, I almost forgot," she said abruptly. "From now on, I will flaming cuss whenever I bloody want to," she told him with a smug smile. "That is non-negotiable." His lips tightened but he made no response, so Neya forged ahead. "I want new clothes. No dresses. And I want to take a bath every day," she added firmly. She wondered how much Bao would agree to before he realised she was taking advantage of the situation.

"As you wish," he said again. A gateway suddenly opened, revealing his bedchamber. Bao stood up and held out a hand for her.

"That's not the bathroom," she said stupidly.

"Well spotted," he replied with a dangerous glimmer in his eyes. Apparently, he was running out of patience.

Neya eyed him uncertainly. "I should let the others know I'm leaving…"

Bao gazed at her hungrily, hand still outstretched. "No time for that now."

It was too late to back down. She took his hand and followed him to the other side – through the gateway that lead to his room, and to the Shadow.