"Anest," she told him, frustrated by his lack of comprehension, "regaining my freedom would not undo what has been done! Even were I to return to the Marshes of Morag, nothing would be the same! I am changed, forever. Joined or not, my heart is now here, with you. And there would be no place for the life I now carry-"
She stopped herself, gaping at the words she'd kept secret.
Until now.
Anest had risen to his feet. He fumbled around a moment before he could begin to phrase his question.
Lily blanched when she realised what Anest was about to ask her. Fear made her mind blank. She averted her gaze, felt him approach.
To her surprise, he knelt before her, drawing her attention. She found, then, that she had the strength to face him.
"Lily, are you . . . ?"
"Yes," she said, almost inaudibly. The words, almost a question, once spoken, seemed to invoke something intangible, as though the Fates themselves now listened to her every thought and word.
Anest bowed his head, put a hand to eyes that bled tears, and nodded. "Oh, Lily, I'm so sorry! You must hate me . . . for this most of all!"
She gaped her incomprehension. "What? But . . . I thought that you would be angry with me."