The Confessions of an Innocent Man

‘I tried to distance myself from Zilt,’ Aelyn Meah said. ‘I tried to distance myself from the Innocent as well, but it was difficult. When Se’Saera spoke to me, one or the other was present. But for the most part, I could put them from my mind. I could focus instead on the promise Se’Saera had made. I could focus on her.’

She paused. I thought, at first, she was arranging her thoughts, as she was prone to do, but I realized shortly that she was involved in an internal debate, as if she was deciding what she should tell me next, or not.

‘There was one exception to my interactions with the god-touched,’ she said, finally. ‘I was asked to watch over a young, pregnant woman. Her name was Zi Taela. She carried the first of Se’Saera’s children.’

I admit that I did not hide my surprise well.

‘No one knew, then,’ Aelyn said softly. ‘She was just a woman in need of help. Her only friends were Samuel Orlan and Bueralan Le. Both men were weighed down by remorse. Until the very end, they tried to find ways to save her, to protect her. I found myself very easily drawn into that. In Taela I saw a little of myself. Helping her was one of the few ways I could help myself. Perhaps all three of us thought that.’

—Onaedo, Histories, Year 1029