"You're not my enemy, you say," Yunxu repeated flatly. If he'd seen the red eyes in the window's reflection, he gave no indication of it. "And yet from the moment you first introduced yourself to me you have been looking for ways to undermine my authority, my goodwill, and whatever trust might have once existed. You may believe this, Lady Valdis - and you do believe it, if our current situation is anything to go by - but you're wrong. You are a Foreigner, first and foremost, and Foreigners are never concerned for anything beyond their own wellbeing. The only thing you and I agree on is that you shouldn't be here."

He spoke without thinking, only half-listening, the passion implied in the words utterly failing to enter his voice. For a few moments, there was silence between them, and then he turned to look at Valdis properly.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Enon wouldn't tell me. It was the only thing he wouldn't ever tell me. The very last thing he said to me, before they discovered his - " Yunxu paused. "The body."