Even when he sat next to her, Valdis still refused to look at him. Her injuries had healed, she could fight again if needed, but he could not. Her actions had deprived the foreigners of a valuable ally. When he mentioned the void, it was only the serenity of Asti that prevented her from bristling.

"I appreciate your forgiveness, yet I can afford to be careless with my life," she replied, looking at her hands, "I was careless with yours. And that is unforgivable." Now she looked at him, her emerald eyes soft, remembering the light she had seen, the balance and the lack of true evil. "But, Anton, if I had seen true evil within your soul, then I would have torn it from your body and taken it into oblivion."