And then, the answer: "Alien, it was she they came for. Now they are gone again—and she is with them!"
CHAPTER VI
Morning. Pale green morning, and the vast estate of dark Vydys the Cruel.
Bukal begged, "Give it up, Craig Nesom. There is no hope. Besides, this is between the Kukzubas, the barons. Vydys seized your Narla only as a weapon against Lord Zenaor. She will not harm her."
Craig cursed him.
The bronzed Baemae's lips drew thin. "What would you have us do, then, alien? Throw our discs against her defenses? Gut ourselves on her guards' weapons?"
Bleakly, Craig stared up at the shining ramparts. Bitterness seethed in him.
And yet ... was it his right to be bitter? These were brave men, dedicated to the Baemae's fight against the barons. But Narla was not of them. The things she meant to him lay between two only.
He said, "Forgive me, Bukal. You and your people—you have troubles enough. I could not give you more."