TEFERI

The Weatherlight sailed smooth and steady toward the boundless horizon, while an ageless time-mage breathed in the fresh air and gazed at the ocean below—about 7,000 feet below, to be exact. That would be one nasty fall. Teferi grimaced and, unthinking, tightened his grip on the skyship's railing.

Boot falls on the deck caught his attention and he turned to see two sultry almond-shaped eyes and a familiar smirk. "You know, I haven't said it yet, but I've been thinking you look good for an old man, Teferi."

He returned her smirk and looked at her sideways as she came to stand beside him at the rail. "If I said that to you, Jhoira, I'd get thrown overboard."

She shrugged, still grinning. "Yeah, well, if you said that to me it wouldn't be true." She paused as he raised an eyebrow in confusion—she may not look it, but she was older than he, after all. Then she said playfully, "I'm not a man."

Now, he laughed. "I guess you've got me there. But you do look mighty fine for a woman who's got plenty more years on me."

"You have a point," she said, tilting her head to the side. "You're lucky I don't throw you overboard for that."

He sucked in his breath and let his eyes wander, just for a moment. She was just as youthful and beautiful as he remembered her—not just from the last time he'd seen her, either. Somehow, in all the centuries, she hadn't aged a bit. "You're still drinking that slow-time water. I can tell."

She chuckled quietly and looked out at the horizon. Her chest rose with a deep breath, and then it fell as she exhaled slowly. "We'll be there soon. I'll miss having you here. It's been nice having you back with us again." She turned and leaned back against the rail with her elbows. "You sure you don't wanna stay for a while longer? Weatherlight could use some more experienced hands."

He regarded her with a raised brow, barely managing to conceal a smile as he wondered if she could also use more experienced hands… He cleared his throat, and observed, "I'd say your crew's become pretty well experienced over these past few years."

"They'll never be as experienced as you," she retorted. Now he was sure she wasn't talking about the ship, but he kept going along with it.

"I don't know about that," he replied, turning his gaze toward her again. "I've been away from it too long and I've never really been much of a sailor. But…we'll need you when the time comes. Will you be ready?"

"Of course," she answered, lifting her chin proudly. "I'm always ready to fight those evil bastards. And so is my crew."

"Can she still handle a planeshift?" He was talking about the ship, naturally.

"Of course," she said again. "Weatherlight was made for planeshifting, you know that."

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago. Now, she's just a skyship. Unless you've figured out a way…"

He saw the grin, and said, "You have, haven't you?"

"We don't do it often these days, true, but she can still do it just fine. It'll be good to give her a reason to do what Urza made her to do. I daresay, we'd make him proud."

"You make him proud," said Teferi. "Like you always did. You were his best student; smart as a whip and twice as talented as the old Master himself. He knew it, too. And he respected you all the more because of it."

"I wouldn't say that," she replied with a heavy sigh. "I mean, I know I'm good, but I'm no Urza."

They both fell silent for a time. Perhaps they were both thinking of the old man—a legendary figure to most people in Dominaria and elsewhere, he was a real flesh and blood person to Jhoira and Teferi. At one time, it seemed like he could never die. Even now, so many centuries since his death, Teferi still expected him to suddenly appear, talking about some new invention he'd crafted in his never-ending war with Phyrexia. Now, it had become their war.

"I always knew this day would come again," his voice hummed deep within his chest. "But I'd hoped it wouldn't. Sometimes, I think we don't stand half a chance without Urza…"

"He prepared us for this," said Jhoira, although her voice wavered a bit beneath that optimism. "And you've got a great team of 'walkers assembled to help us this time. Once you add Jaya and Karn to the bunch, they don't stand a chance."

Teferi smiled as Jhoira turned toward the horizon again, her black hair blowing in the wind. Teferi followed suit and they stood there in silence for a long while, each lost in their own thoughts. They were headed to Terisiare – all that was left of the ancient continent, anyway. Now it was a series of islands, one of which was the island of Lat-Nam. That was where Jhoira was pretty sure they would find Jaya Ballard.

It had been ages since Teferi had been to Lat-Nam. It had once been a much smaller island, called Tolaria. It was where Urza had built the original Tolarian Academy; where Teferi and Jhoira had long ago been among his most-talented students. After the temporal disaster and the destruction of its first two campuses, caused by Urza's failed time travel experiments, now it was home to merely one of several campuses of the Tolarian Academy. However, it was not on the campus that they expected to find the ancient pyromancer, but in the surrounding forests.

Suddenly, Teferi heard a snicker and turned to see Jhoira looking at him with a playful grin. "Hey, maybe while we're there, you can get some more of that slow-time water for yourself. You look like you're needing some, old man."

"I'm starting to think you've got a crush on me now, Jhoira," he teased.

"What? No, I—." When she couldn't think of what to say, she stuck her tongue out at him and walked away. She did glance at him over her shoulder, however, and with his many centuries of experience he knew what that look meant. He decided to follow her and was glad he did.

There was once a time he had been thoroughly infatuated with her and tried everything to get her attention, but everything he tried failed. A few years younger than her, both young and inexperienced at love and life, she had seen him only as an immature and annoying kid until she rescued him from one of the time fissures and they had developed a long-lasting friendship. By now, they had a shared history that stretched back centuries. He had aged quite a bit—considerably more than she had, in fact—and despite their centuries of friendship, he was amazed that without even trying he had gotten her attention, at long last. Only now, his once boyish infatuation had matured into something much more interesting and desirable to them both, and it was that which had finally brought them together.

It had been decades since the last time he was with a woman—not that he couldn't have had plenty, had he wanted them enough. After his wife died, though, he had not wanted another woman no matter how beautiful or fascinating, no matter how much she was interested or had thrown herself at him. It took Jhoira, the first woman he had ever longed for, to pull him out of his shell and into her bed and it was an experience that was certainly well worth the wait. It had only taken them a few centuries…

Afterward, he held her close as she rested her head on his chest, and he lay in silent awe. It was only the sudden commotion of boots running across the deck and the motion of the skyship beginning to descend that brought them out of their silent reveries. Soon afterward, a knock sounded on the door and a timid voice asked, "Captain? Are you there? We're approaching Lat-Nam. We've begun our descent."

"Thank you!" she shouted, sitting up with a sigh. "I'll be right out!"

She paused and looked back at Teferi over her shoulder with a smile, as she began getting dressed.

He sat up and rested on his shoulder. "So much for taking a nap after…"

They shared a laugh, and then she punched him gently on the arm. "Speak for yourself, old man. I'm feeling fresh as a newborn fawn."

"Riiiight," he answered with a smirk. "Somehow, I doubt that very much."

Instead of replying, she threw a pile of his clothes in his face, and said, "I suggest you get dressed."

When they finished dressing and made their way out to the deck, the descent toward Lat-Nam was well underway. Jhoira and Teferi stood at the bow, looking out toward the island as it appeared through the clouds, and they were flooded with memories. Teferi felt her hand rest upon his and squeeze gently, and he turned her hand over to lace his fingers through hers. This was the place where it all began, and where it had once seemed the whole world would end.

"You ready for this?" she shouted over the roar of wind.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he shouted back, and they shared a smile.

Jaya was somewhere down in that jungle. Teferi knew it would not likely be hard to convince her to join them, but he was certain it was not going to be easy finding her—if she was even still there. All Jhoira knew was that she had been heading there the last time she'd seen her, but that was several months ago and being a 'walker meant Jaya could reasonably be just about anywhere in the Multiverse. His only hope was that the last lead would prove to be correct, so he wouldn't have to start from square one.

He turned his gaze toward Jhoira then and smiled. These past weeks of traveling with her on the Weatherlight and rekindling their friendship had been well worth it, either way.

AJANI

Where might Karn be? The silver man was simultaneously predictable yet baffling to the leonin who had long known him yet never really come to understand him. His search for the planeswalking golem had led him all across the Blind Eternities, only to take him back to the most predictable yet unlikely place: the very place of Karn's birth—if one can call it a birth, considering he was designed and assembled by the hands of an artificer. Not just any artificer, however. Urza himself was Karn's creator and that only made the silver golem all the more fascinating yet inexplicable to Ajani Goldmane.

He cast his single blue eye around as he lumbered along; his boots scraped the cobbled city streets; his hood drawn up to hide his unusual coloring. The people of Dominaria were not unfamiliar with the races of humanoid felines, but he had never ceased to amaze humans and leonin alike by his snow-white fur. He grunted at the thought of how many times the color of his fur had brought him trouble or, at the very least, stares and whispers. A white cat warrior looking for a silver golem was even more unusual, and he hated drawing attention to himself.

He heard a crash—a window breaking?—followed by angered shouting. Concerned, he paused to consider. He determined there was no danger—it was merely a husband and wife having a heated argument, and by the sound of it the wife was the one gaining the upper hand. Shaking his head, Ajani moved on, grateful not to have troubles such as those.

It did remind him of a row he heard between Jace and Liliana a few days before he left in search of Karn. Mostly, they seemed to get on quite well as husband and wife, but that day they had not been seeing eye-to-eye on some thing or other. Ajani tried not to listen to the crashing and the banging and the yelling—Jace raging, Liliana shrieking, and fragile things being shattered after likely being hurled across the bedroom. He only heard as much as he did because his bedroom was directly below theirs and his ears tended to pick up a great deal more than human ears. It was even more unpleasant when the two of them made up after the fight… He had found the need to get out of the house at that point, eager not to overhear anything further between the mercurial pair. All he knew was he was glad not to have any kind of romantic relationship, because it all seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

Putting his ears back, he cringed and tried to wipe the memory from the front of his mind. He wished he could have the memory removed altogether, but he was too embarrassed to approach Jace to ask for such a service.

He heard the clinking and clattering of steel against steel and realized he was nearing a blacksmith's shop. It was there, in the faint orange glow of the furnace, that he found the man he was told might know where to find Karn. The man paused from hammering a heated rod to wipe a layer of grime and sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. That's when two piercing grey eyes met Ajani's single blue eye, and the man offered a wary nod.

"You here for some steel?"

"Silver, actually," said Ajani, stepping in carefully and lowering his hood. "I'm looking for a golem. I was told you might know where to find him."

The man frowned and shrugged as he plunged the metal rod into a bucket of water. Steam rose and it sizzled as the metal cooled quickly. Then the man set the rod aside and laid down his hammer, crossing his large muscular arms over his chest. "I'm just a blacksmith. I don't make golems."

"You misunderstand," Ajani replied. "This golem was not made by human hands, and he is no ordinary golem. Of course, I think you know that. I'm looking for Karn. I'm an old friend."

The blacksmith grimaced, then spit to the side. "Can't help you. I don't know what you're about."

Ajani sighed heavily. What was it Jace told him to say? The code word that would assure this man he was a friend and not a foe? It was a phrase in the ancient Thran tongue. The words did not form easily on the leonin's tongue. The man seemed to recognize the phrase, however; his demeanor was instantly changed from one of suspicion to one of friendship. After wiping his hands on his apron, he reached out and gave Ajani's hand a firm shake.

"Come inside," said the blacksmith. "I will get you a drink. It's about time I take a break."

Once they were inside, Ajani seated at a small table, the blacksmith removed his apron and prepared two mugs of beer. He sat down opposite the leonin and lifted his drink. "To old friends and new."

Ajani raised his mug and gave a nod before taking a drink.

"Now," said the man, "you are a friend of Karn, so I will tell you what I know of him. But first, I must know something of you. Who are you and how do know the silver man that walks the planes? Are you one of them?"

"A planeswalker, yes," Ajani confirmed. "We worked together once, a long time ago, here in Dominaria. A…friend of mine was searching for a demon to kill and he helped us put an end to the demon and defeat the Cabal that was serving him."

"Ah, yes. Belzenlok and the Cabal." He shivered. "And that friend of yours…is also a friend of Karn?"

Ajani carefully considered his words. "More an acquaintance, I would say. They do not know one another well. She is also from here, though, from what I understand. Also, a planeswalker."

"Hm," the man rubbed his stubbled chin thoughtfully. "Karn did speak of that time, and of the woman you call your friend: the necromancer, Liliana Vess. But she is well known here—she turned her own brother into the undead long ago, before she disappeared. Karn said she also led an army of undead against innocent people after returning here to slay Belzenlok."

"That…is true, yes. But…she is dead now," he said carefully. It was easier to lie than to try to explain the truth of everything to this man. "And I was not aware of these things when I called her a friend."

They spoke for near an hour before the man trusted Ajani enough to tell him where to find Karn. Despite his growing annoyance at being drawn into a long conversation with this man, Ajani did not find his company unpleasant. By the end of it, Ajani knew where to go and he was eager to conclude what had been a long journey across many planes.

CHANDRA

For once, Chandra actually arrived early for a meeting. However, it was not by chance. This time, she was on a mission. She wanted to catch Liliana—who was almost always early. She had once made the comment, many years earlier, that if one does not arrive early then one is late—something along those lines, anyway. Chandra wasn't good at all that proper talk that seemed to come so naturally to the necromancer. Of course, that was in reference to Chandra's almost always being late to everything. It was Liliana's way of trying to be a guiding sisterly figure, or whatever she was trying to be in those days. Now, it was Chandra's turn to try to be a comforting sisterly figure, even though she knew it was taking an immense risk.

It was a relief to find Liliana sitting in the quiet solitude of Jace's sanctum early that morning, just as she had expected to find her. Everyone else, Jace included, would be eating breakfast about that time. Liliana seldom dined with everyone else—it was her tendency to eat alone or in small company in her private quarters more often than not—unless there was a party. Were it not for the fact that Chandra had seen how the necromancer enjoyed good food as much as the rest of them, she would wonder if Liliana ever ate at all.

Liliana was sitting in a cushioned window seat, back resting against the frame and hands folded in her lap, staring out the window at the bustle in the streets below. Chandra knew the necromancer was feeling restless and trapped like a prisoner in Jace's house since returning to Ravnica—she (and everyone else in the house) had heard some of their spats over the issue on numerous occasions. On the one hand, she understood that Jace was only trying to keep her safe. At the same time, though, she felt bad for Liliana—even if it was, at least to a degree, her own doing that ultimately led to the need to keep her in virtual house arrest on Ravnica.

Chandra entered quietly, but as soon as she began to approach, Liliana turned her head to see who had entered. For only a moment, Chandra caught a glimpse of restless melancholy in her violet eyes before it morphed into the usual look of forced indifference mixed with a bit of suspicion.

"What are you doing here so early? Shouldn't you be stuffing your face in the dining room with everyone else?"

"Good morning to you, too, Liliana," Chandra answered dryly. It was really, really hard not to go off on her then. BUT Chandra was determined to make peace with the necromancer, who she knew was being mean only to hide her pain, which—as Jace had explained—Liliana feared might be perceived as weakness. Still no excuse, Chandra thought wryly, but she would do her best to take the high road in this case. Someone had to, after all, and it was probably never going to be Liliana who would make the first move toward peace.

Liliana turned back to look out the window, her head raised in a haughty manner, as she spoke, "If you're here to pick a fight with me, you can leave. I want to be alone."

"Actually, I came here to make peace," Chandra answered with a bit of sass, although she was trying SO hard to keep her blood from boiling. She clenched her fists and pushed down the volcanic eruption that was building, using some of the methods Nissa had taught her for controlling her temper, such as taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly.

"Peace?" asked Liliana, looking at her with raised brow. "I wasn't aware we were at war."

"Well, we weren't…or aren't."

"Then why do we need to make peace?"

Chandra sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "You have to admit, you've been pretty rotten toward everyone lately. Ever since that night when I came to you about Nissa…"

The blood drained from Liliana's already pale face, and she turned her head to stare out the window again at the mention of that night. Chandra winced at her own stupidity. "Look, I'm sorry. I…know what happened. Why you were upset. Why you'd been…crying." She sighed again. "Why you were angry that I came to the door."

"What are you talking about?" Liliana asked, as if she was completely baffled. Chandra saw right through it, though, and she refused to be deterred by Liliana's refusal to face anything real.

"Jace told me about the miscarriage. And I came here to say I'm sorry you went through that."

A dark expression fell over the necromancer's entire being, and for a moment Chandra wondered if she needed to prepare a counter spell to avoid being outright murdered. Instead, Liliana muttered bitterly, "Jace, you insensitive bastard…"

"Actually, he was defending you," Chandra explained. "He only told me because I was mad that you were being such a—well, you were just being nasty and for no apparent reason. So, he wanted me to understand why you were being that way and he swore me to secrecy."

"So, that's why everyone has been giving me pitiful stares whenever they think I'm not paying attention? Chandra, I won't blame you because Jace is the one who ought to know better than to divulge my secrets to the likes of you."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? You think I can't keep a secret?"

Liliana tilted her head and raised a brow, holding out her hand as if it were obvious. Chandra groaned.

"Okay, fine, but he was only trying to help! And so was I! You've been sulking and snippy for weeks and everyone was starting to regret accepting you back with us—you're frankly really bad at helping your own case, so we have to smooth everything for you after you go and mess it all up with your tantrums and your overall bad attitude."

Liliana scoffed. "You call this making peace?"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S ALWAYS BEING SURLY!"

Chandra roared in anger and Liliana actually jumped as the pyromancer's hair erupted into flame. She leaned back against the window frame and Chandra realized she was probably getting burned just by being too close to the heat. She stepped back a pace and took a deep breath, now combining all the techniques she had learned from Jaya along with the ones she had learned from Nissa to calm herself.

Placing a hand to her forehead, she closed her eyes, and said, "This is going all wrong. I'm trying to be nice, and even though I can't stand how childish you're being I still want to be nice, because I know you're in pain."

"You don't know anything about how I feel," Liliana growled, finally rising from the window seat and moving to leave.

"No, you're right," said Chandra. She heard the rustle of Liliana's skirts and the clicking of her bootheels on the tile floor cease. "You're right, Lili; I don't know how you feel, because I've never been in your situation. But I know what it's like to want something so bad and then to have it taken away from you forever. I know what it's like to lose someone I love—and if you never got the chance to have that baby and get to know it as the person if could have become, you still loved it because it was a part of you and a part of Jace. I don't understand what you're going through, Lili, but I do understand pain and loss, and even though I think you're dealing with it all wrong, I do understand, and I want you to know that I care and I'm here for you."

For only a moment, she saw tears rimming the necromancer's eyes. Then she pushed them back and raised her chin confidently, as she stepped toward Chandra. The wary pyromancer almost took a step back when Liliana reached out toward her, but then she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, as Liliana's voice came in a firm hush, "You're a good friend, Chandra. But I'm fine. I don't need sympathy."

She met Liliana's gaze and could just see the veiled pain behind her mask of cold indifference.

"You don't have to be strong all the time," Chandra offered. "No one will think any less of you if they see you have feelings, like anybody else."

Liliana sighed. "Two centuries of experience have taught me otherwise."

"Two centuries without any of us—but we're not all those other people. We've done so much for you! Why can't you just let down your guard and be human every once in a while? At least, when you're with us? You're safe with us, Lili. I'd think you would see that by now. I don't know how else to show you we care."

"Two centuries is a lot to work through. A decade isn't much in comparison when you really think on it."

"I guess so," said Chandra. She was a little surprised, actually, and she admitted, "That's really insightful. I never thought of it that way."

"Jace told me that," she admitted. Then with the hint of a smile, she rolled her eyes, and said, "He made it into this whole mathematical thing. You know how he is."

Behind her nonchalance, Chandra could detect the genuine affection there. She almost smiled. "Yeah, that does sound like Jace. It's amazing, actually, that you can actually get him out of his head sometimes."

"Not an easy thing," said Liliana, casting her gaze to the side, thoughtfully. Then her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink and said took a deep breath. "Well, anyway…we have a meeting to prepare for. Everyone will soon begin flooding in. Did you have breakfast?"

"No, I…didn't really have time."

Liliana rolled her eyes, but then she placed an arm around Chandra, and said, "Come on. Let's go get you something, so your stomach's not growling through the whole meeting."

Chandra smiled. She knew that was Liliana's coy way of admitting she actually cared, and she was glad to see something of the old Liliana back.

LILIANA

The looks of shock when they walked into the dining room that morning were priceless. It was hard to say whose expression was the most amusing to her as she let her eyes scan the table from face to face. Nissa was probably the one that gave Liliana the most pleasure, as her mouth literally dropped open at the sight of her and Chandra entering arm-in-arm like a pair of old chums. Was there a hint of jealousy, or had Liliana just imagined it? That, alone, was intensely pleasing. It was the first bit of amusement she had had since…the incident.

Jace, spoon in hand, stopped to offer a wary smile—happy to see her but perhaps a bit fearful or uncertain, since it was the first time she had set foot in the dining room in weeks. To set him at ease, she met his gaze and smiled faintly, then led Chandra to the other end of the table.

Liliana took her place at the opposite end of the long table, while Chandra took a seat to her right, beside Nissa. The elf continued to stare, until Chandra leaned over to whisper something that seemed to appease her.

As soon as the newcomers were settled, the lone servant shuffled over to be of service. They started out by offering tea to Liliana, who politely accepted.

Then, as they poured the tea, Liliana looked across the table at Jace with a smile, and said, "By the way, Jace, I must say it's a pleasant change for you to have a staff—meager as it is. How many servants do you keep now?" She counted on her hand, "This one, two others in the kitchen, and…Lavinia makes four?"

Seated between Arlinn and Will, Lavinia gave her a bitter look while Jace sighed heavily, giving his wife a heavy-lidded gaze, and said, "Lavinia is not a servant."

"If you say so," Liliana shrugged. "At any rate, it's a pleasant change since the last time I was here."

"You know why I typically don't keep servants," Jace said dryly.

"Yes, that's why it's impressive."

Jace sighed and tapped his fingers on the table. "Anyway, why are you bringing this up now? You've been here for weeks…"

She shrugged. "I just now thought of it." Then she offered him a snaky smile and sipped her tea. She refused to let his sour mood affect her own.

Nevertheless, Liliana decided not to continue pushing his buttons. Instead, she turned her gaze to Arlinn, who was watching her thoughtfully. "So, Arlinn, is it…? I'm afraid we got off to a bad start. How's Innistrad these days? I've heard it was plunged into an endless darkness and was being overtaken by monsters and undead."

"It was, yes," Arlinn concurred. "It has since been recovered."

"How unfortunate," Liliana answered with a mischievous gaze.

Jace exhaled loudly from across the table. She smirked and saw him resting his forehead in the palm of his hand. She was laughing on the inside, even though she remained cool and calm, awaiting Arlinn's natural reaction.

"Unfortunate?" the human wolf replied on cue. "How is it unfortunate? Have you any idea how terrible it was for the people of Innistrad? They're lucky to be alive."

Liliana hummed. "I find people to be more useful when dead."

"Lili, stop," Jace said firmly. "Arlinn, don't take her too seriously. She's enjoying the shock value."

"You're no fun," Liliana pouted.

Then she glanced at Arlinn, pleased to see the look of disgust was now tinged with confusion and uncertainty. Deciding to continue pestering the human wolf, she casually changed the subject. "You know, I used to live on Innistrad, before that irritating Eldrazi debacle. I still have many friends there. And a few enemies. Speaking of which, how is Olivia Voldaren these days?"

The attempt to stifle a laugh came from Liliana's right, the source of which was Chandra. "You mean Olivia Markov?"

Now it was Liliana's turn to be stunned. "She and Sorin…?"

"No," Chandra laughed. "The old guy, Edgar."

"Sorin's grandfather?" Liliana laughed. "I can't imagine being that desperate."

"She did it for power," Arlinn explained.

"Obviously," Liliana replied. "She never was one to earn anything on her own merit. Of course, that's because she has no true talent of her own."

"I thought you were her friend," Arlinn interjected.

"What ever made you think that?" asked Liliana.

"I… You…" She paused, her cheeks growing pink. "Never mind."

Liliana laughed wickedly. "Olivia Voldaren—Markov?" She paused, still taking it in, and grimaced. "She and I have never really been much of anything to one another. She recognized my power and wished to exploit it, while I recognized her connections and wished to exploit them. One could say it was a mutually beneficial working relationship, but I would hardly call it friendship. Ultimately, she hated me because I represented true power—something she could only ever dream of—while I found her to be useful and amusing, despite our rather…differing tastes."

Arlinn's jaw tensed, and Liliana wondered what it was she was trying so hard not to say. Curiosity might have tempted her to continue pushing, but then she noticed Jace's look of disappointment and suddenly she felt ashamed. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and let out a sigh.

"At the end of the day, Olivia is an evil person," Liliana said softly, looking down at the bowl of fruit that had been placed in front of her. "It's unfortunate she has found another way to exploit the people of Stensia. I can't imagine Sorin's handled it well—he's always hated her."

"He tried to help us stop the wedding from happening," said Arlinn. "Needless to say, he was furious when he found out what she was scheming."

"Yes, well, Sorin's always felt very strongly about things that affect him."

"Like you?" Arlinn asked pointedly.

Liliana smiled casually. "Like everyone."

The she-wolf fell silent and began pushing food around on her plate with her fork. Liliana was pleased she had finally muzzled her, and almost made a comment to that nature but managed to hold back the urge. She knew she had already taken it too far—she could feel Jace positively fuming from across the table and the tension in the room could have been cut through like butter on a warm afternoon. She knew Jace was probably going to give her an earful when they were alone together later that day, but at least it was better than feeling ignored.

Ever since the miscarriage, he had been burying himself even more deeply in his work. Every day it consumed him more and more, and she saw of him less and less. He barely slept, barely even left his sanctum other than to eat, and it was finally becoming unbearable. She knew she was partially responsible because she had been pushing him away, but it was only because she didn't want him to be consumed by the dark void in which she had been trapped.

Nevertheless, she wanted him to come to her, to comfort her—to brave the dark void despite her pushing him away, if only so that she might feel his love shining through, so that he might pull her from that darkness and make her feel worthy again. She knew, too, that it was childish, pathetic, and even a little bit selfish to require validation and to play these games, but she couldn't help herself. She needed him to prove his love to her, because she had been let down so many times, by he and others.

Liliana picked at the fruit in her bowl as the slight buzz of amusement and confidence slipped away, only to be replaced once again by those feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. Pleasure was always so fickle. It infuriated her, and suddenly she returned to jaded bitterness.

Pushing out her chair, she got up, and said, "Dining with other people is always so tedious."

On her way out of the room, she brushed past Jace, who was slumped in his chair with that look of eternal disappointment fixed upon his face. That only irritated her more, because she was tired of disappointing everyone—especially the man whose opinion she valued above all others.