The Gathering Storm (The Wheel of Time 12) - Page 161

Rand held the man’s gaze. Flinn was not rebellious; he was as loyal as they came. But still Rand made him wilt and bow his head. Dissension could not be tolerated. Dissension and lies had brought him to the collar. No more.

“I’m sorry, my Lord,” Flinn finally said. “Burn me if Falme isn’t a fine choice! You’ll have them watching the skies with fear, you will.”

“Go with the message now, Naeff,” Rand said. “I want this settled.”

Naeff nodded, turning his horse and trotting away from the column, a small group of Aiel guards joining him. One could only Travel from a place one knew well, and so he couldn’t simply leave from dockside. Rand continued his ride, troubled by Lews Therin’s silence. The madman had been unusually distant lately. That should have pleased Rand, but it disturbed him instead. It had to do with the unnamed power that Rand had touched. He still often heard the madman weeping, whispering to himself, terrified.

“Rand?”

He turned, not having heard Nynaeve’s horse approach. She wore a bold green dress, modest by Domani standards, but still far more revealing than she’d ever have considered during her days in the Two Rivers. She has a right to change, Rand thought. What is a loosening of dress compared to the fact that I have ordered exiles and executions?

“What did you decide?” she asked.

“We will meet them at Falme,” he said.

She muttered quietly.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Oh, just something about you being a wool-headed fool,” she said, looking at him with defiant eyes.

“Falme will be agreeable to them,” he said.

“Yes,” she said. “It puts you perfectly within their hands.”

“I cannot afford to wait, Nynaeve,” he said. “This is a risk we must take. But I doubt they will attack.”

“Did you doubt it last time too?” she asked. “The time when they took your hand?”

He glanced down at his stump. “They are unlikely to have one of the Forsaken with them this time.”

“You can be sure?”

He met her eyes, and she held them, something few people could seem to manage these days. Finally, he shook his head. “I cannot be sure.”

She sniffed in response, indicating that she’d won that argument. “Well, we’ll just have to be extra careful. Perhaps memories of the last time you visited Falme will make them uncomfortable.”

“I hope so,” he said.

She muttered something else to herself, but he didn’t catch it. Nynaeve would never make an ideal Aes Sedai; she was far too free with her emotions, particularly her temper. Rand did not find it a fault; at least he always knew where he stood with Nynaeve. She was terrible at games, and that made her valuable. He trusted her. She was one of the few.

We do trust her, don’t we? Lews Therin asked. Can we?

Rand didn’t answer. He completed his review of the docks. Nynaeve stayed at his side. She seemed to be in a dark mood, though Rand couldn’t see why. With Cadsuane’s banishment, Nynaeve could fill the role as his primary advisor. Didn’t that please her?

Perhaps she was worried about Lan. As Rand turned his procession back toward the center of town, he asked, “Have you heard from him?”

Nynaeve glanced at him, eyes narrowing. “Who?”

“You know who,” Rand said, riding past a row of bright red banners waving atop a line of home

s, each holding scions of the same family.

“His actions are none of your concern,” Nynaeve said.

“The entire world is my concern, Nynaeve.” He looked at her. “Would you not agree?”

She opened her mouth, no doubt to snap at him, but faltered as she met his eyes. Light, he thought, seeing the apprehension in her face. I can do it to Nynaeve, now. What is it that they see when they look at me? That look in her eyes almost made him frightened of himself.

Tags: Robert Jordan The Wheel of Time Fantasy
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