The pulse began to beat under Starke's jaw again, and this time his body was strong, and the pulse was like a drum throbbing.
Romna said, "His mind has come back."
There was a long, hard silence. No one in the hall moved. Then the men back of Beudag, big brawny kilted warriors, began to close in on the dais, talking in low snarling undertones that rose toward a mob howl. Faolan rose up and faced them, and bellowed them to quiet.
"He's mine to take! Let him alone."
Beudag sprang up onto the dais, one beautiful flowing movement. "It isn't possible," she said. "His mind broke under torture. He's been a drooling idiot with barely the sense to feed himself. And now, suddenly, you say he's normal again?"
Starke said, "You know I'm normal. You can see it in my eyes."
"Yes."