Elantris - Brandon Sanderson [250]
“The Guard and the nobility support Telrii because they don’t see another alternative,” Kaloo explained. “Lord Roial was shamed by the failed wedding, and Lady Sarene was thrown into Elantris. Now, however, the embarrassment has been removed. Perhaps if we can show the Guard the ultimate result of their decision—occupation by Fjorden and a virtual enslavement of our people—they will realize that they supported the wrong man. Give men an honest choice, and I believe they will choose wisely.”
That was it. Sarene knew that faith somewhere—that pure belief in the basic goodness of all men. And, when she suddenly realized where she had seen it before, she couldn’t stop herself from jumping up and yelping in surprise.
Raoden cringed, immediately recognizing his mistake. He had let go of Kaloo too quickly, allowing too much of his true self to show. The others hadn’t noticed the change, but Sarene—dear suspicious Sarene—hadn’t been so lax. He looked into her shocked, wide eyes, and knew that she knew. Somehow, despite their short time together, she had recognized him when his best friends could not.
Uh-oh, he thought to himself.
“Sarene?” Roial asked. “Princess, are you all right?”
Sarene looked around sheepishly, standing in front of her chair. She quickly forgot her embarrassment, however, as her eyes fell on the furtive Kaloo.
“No, my lord, I don’t think so,” she said. “I think we need a break.”
“We haven’t really been going that long …” Lukel said.
Sarene silenced him with a look, and no one else braved her wrath.
“A break it is,” Roial said slowly.
“Good,” Kiin said, rising from his seat. “I have some Hraggish meatwraps cooling out back. I’ll go get them.”
Sarene was so flustered that she barely even considered chastising her uncle for preparing a meal when she had expressly told him not to. She shot Kaloo a telling look, then stalked away from the table, apparently on her way to the privy. She waited in Kiin’s study for a moment before the hapless impostor finally strolled around the corner.
Sarene grabbed his shirt and all but threw him against the wall as she pressed her face up against his.
“Spirit?” she demanded. “What in the name of Gracious Domi are you doing here?”
Spirit looked to the side apprehensively. “Not so loudly, Sarene! How do you think those men would react if they discovered they’d been sitting with an Elantrian?”
“But … how?” she asked, her anger turning to excitement as she realized it really was him. She reached up to wiggle his nose, which was far too long to be his real one. She was surprised when her fingers passed through the tip as if it weren’t there.
“You were right about the Aons, Sarene,” Spirit said quickly. “They’re maps of Arelon—all I had to do was add one line, and the entire system started working again.”
“One line?”
“The Chasm,” Spirit explained. “It caused the Reod. It was enough of a change in the landscape that its presence needs to be reflected in the Aons.”
“It works!” Sarene said. Then she released his shirt and gave him a bitter punch to the side. “You’ve been lying to me!”
“Ow!” Spirit complained. “Please, no punching—my body doesn’t heal, remember?”
Sarene gasped. “That didn’t …?”
“Change when we fixed AonDor?” Spirit asked. “No. I’m still an Elantrian under this illusion. There’s something else wrong with AonDor.”
Sarene resisted the urge to punch him again. “Why did you lie to me?”
Spirit smiled. “Oh, and you’re going to try and tell me it wasn’t more fun this way?”
“Well …”
He laughed. “Only you would consider that a valid excuse, my princess. Actually, I never got the chance to tell you. Every time I tried to approach you these last few days, you ducked away—and you ignored the letter I sent you. I couldn’t just jump in front of you and drop my illusion. I actually came to Kiin’s last night in the hopes I would see you in the window.”
“You did?” Sarene asked with a smile.
“Ask Galladon,” Raoden said. “He’s back at Roial’s right now eating all of the duke’s Jaadorian candy. Did you know he had a weakness for sweets?”
“The duke or Galladon?