Another heavy exhalation. All of those were warning signs; together, they pointed toward something very wrong, in the soul if not the brain. If only she'd said something! "Yes," Raine agreed, leaning against the wall to watch Valdis. "It was foolish, and arrogant, and short-sighted."

Her words were precise and clipped, though they softened a little bit as she went on. "One of my students once did something similar. She had a rare, fatal illness, but rather than say something when she first noticed something wrong, she hid it from all of us until it was revealed by sheer chance. It was luck alone that let us save her. She'd hidden it because she didn't believe there was a solution, and she didn't want to worry anyone, but if she'd said something sooner, a good deal of suffering could have been avoided."

Raine folded her arms across her chest, eyes still sharp on Valdis. "I don't know if your motives were quite so selfless, or if you simply like to believe yourself completely invincible. It doesn't matter. Did you think you had to handle everything on your own?"