Lion Head Mesa kadat ∢ nesikh

Toula looked to the royal girl, and then back to the boy. she did not see the resemblance between them—one was feral and unkempt, the other a Diamond prized from the rough. but the girl would not have said such things if it were not true, 
and Toula had promised to protect them. each of them. why would he turn against her? his sister? the boys mumbling was half-heard, and less of that was interpreted. have you any suspicions why he might have done as he has? she asked, speaking of his trespasses against Akashingo. even him, they had provided for—up until the day he had gone,
to some wild, wild place, Toula now understood. perhaps a place that had caused him to act beyond their understanding… she looked back to him, thinking.