I reflected that piss was supposed to stay in my body, but if that screaming went on for much longer, that might not stay the case.

I bought you something ma’am. A gift - Din Moodies! Mood Grafts! And are they… - Ana The Hallucinogenic ones. The ones you’re always asking about. I had to visit a very dodgy shop in Talagray to get them… - Din Perhaps an odd way to begin my duties as your formal assistant—breaking the law before I even start. -Din

Sen sez imperiya. The Empire is strong because it recognizes the value in all our people. Including you, Dinios Kol. And when the Empire is weak, it is often because a powerful few have denied us the abundance of our people.

Well, now I do wonder if you should be my assistant. But not for your dishonesty, Din. Rather, because you apparently think me a fucking idiot! - Ana I…I beg your par— Din Ridiculous boy! Absurd child! Do you really not understand that I knew you cheated? That I’ve known all this time? You…What? Truly? - Din Din! Is it not safe to say that you have just witnessed me formulating answers to some very complex problems? Ones far more complicated than the mystifying puzzle of “How did this young man who was so shit at his exams suddenly score so well?” - Ana

We are of the clan of the Hazas. And we shall not be spoken to in such a manner by anyone. - Axiom Vashta leaned forward from the bench. And I am the seneschal of Talagray. I hold in my hands the heart of the Empire, of which your clan is but a part. And if you wish to ever rejoin your clan, you will all be quiet. - Vashta

Ch 33: I kept staring at his tears. Watched how they gathered at his chin, growing into a pregnant pink drop, before tumbling off into the leaves. Ch 37: The silence stretched on, and on; and Ana allowed it to swell, waiting for the perfect time to puncture it.

"I see!" said Ana, nodding. "I just have one more question." "Of course." "What color was the clay?" Fayazi blinked, confused. "Clay? What clay?" "The clay you must have stuck in your eyes and ears," said Ana, grinning, "to remain so amazingly fucking ignorant of everything about you."