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"You are not going deep enough," Master Lo Feng said in reproof. "Do not focus on the things that live and grow upon the earth's surface. Close your eyes and listen for its pulse."

I closed my eyes and listened.

"You are breathing through your nose."

"Oh." I breathed through my mouth.

"Breathe into your belly, not your chest," he said.

I breathed into my belly, slow and steady. For a time, there was silence. Mayhap it meant I was doing well. I cracked open my eyes and peeked. Master Lo Feng's eyes were closed, his face as serene as a statue's. Bao's eyes were half-lidded, dark, glittering slits watching me. He drew deep, even breaths between parted lips.

"Moirin, do not concern yourself with Bao," Master Lo Feng said without opening his eyes.

"Bao is concerning himself with me," I complained.

"Ignore him."

I tried harder. I closed my eyes again. I thought about the earth beneath me and how deep it went. Deeper than the taproot of Elua's Oak. I listened for its pulse. I drew breath deep into the pit of my belly and breathed it out slowly. I thought about the bright and dark world beyond the stone doorway, and how the tread of the Maghuin Dhonn Herself had made the ground tremble.

A measured tread, slow and stately.

Terrible.

Beautiful.

Like a heartbeat.

When the bell in the tower rang a second time, it seemed faint and distant, summoning me back to myself.

"Oh!" I opened my eyes with an effort, my lids feeling oddly heavy. The shadows cast by plants and shrubs in the garden had moved. A good deal more time than I reckoned had passed.

Master Lo Feng's eyes crinkled. "Well done."

"Was it?"

"Indeed." He struggled to rise. Bao was on his feet in a flash, planting his staff and lending his master a solicitous hand. Master Lo Feng accepted it without a trace of embarrassment. "Old knees," he said ruefully. "Forgive me. Proper breathing will prolong life, but mortal flesh and bone is still mortal."

Bao muttered under his breath in Ch'in.

Master Lo Feng ignored him. "So. You bade me teach you as I saw fit. Will you continue?"

"Is this what you taught Raphael?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No."

"Why?"

"It is not what he wished to learn," he said patiently. "Nor where his gifts lay. Lady Moirin, I ask again: Is it your will to continue?"

I took a deep, experimental breath. My body reverberated with the memory of the Maghuin Dhonn's heavy tread shaking the earth, and the earth's answering pulse. My diadh-anam sang inside me. "It is."

He bowed. "Come tomorrow."

I thought Raphael might laugh when I told him that night at dinner that Master Lo Feng was teaching me to breathe, but he didn't.

"Odd as it sounds, there may be merit in it," he said. "I've found it to be true in other matters. As I said before, the Ch'in believe energy flows through the body in specific patterns, concentrating in various points. Under his tutelage, I've learned to sense and manipulate it." He smiled at me. "Greatly more so with your aid. I'm eager to see if that holds true in other endeavors."

"Your secret project?" I guessed.

Raphael nodded. "Make no mistake, Moirin," he said in a somber tone. "This is a private matter and you're not to discuss it outside the Circle."

"The Circle?"

"A handful of scholars dedicated to pursuing knowledge. We call ourselves the Circle of Shalomon." He hesitated. "It's naught that's illegal or treasonous, I promise, and we will follow every safeguard and take every precaution. But there are those in the realm who would question the wisdom of our pursuit. Once we've succeeded, it will be different."

I frowned, sopping up meat juices with a piece of bread. "May I ask exactly what it is that you're attempting to do?"

Raphael glanced at the chef standing beside the tray with the roast, the manservant hovering beside him. "You may ask, but I've said as much as discretion permits. I'll divulge no details here. Tomorrow. All right?"

"Oh, I don't know." I eyed him. "What will you give me in exchange for my aid and patience, my lord