The Sentinels and never mind how high the cost may grow

fairies! she echoed, and her mind buzzed with some faraway and yet near memory. deirdre delighted at his words, and her eyes traced the circle slowly. violets. she remembered violets; she remembered the world in color, not stripped to its bare bones. and yet it was still beautiful to her; the tragedy lay in how it had come, and that it was so cruelly done. her father had taught her now of death, and she understood it well enough to know of its necessity. the circle turns and turns.

his speech caused her to stir from her reverie, and the youngest mayfair looked from the circle to him once again. how? she asked in a quiet whisper, wondering if there were words said through the ages that he would teach to her this night, or if it were something she must search for in herself.