Finally—after ardents arrived and pronounced blessings, anointings, and prayers—she was shuffled off into a little room by herself with a brazier, a window, and a mirror. The table held implements for her to paint a last prayer, so that she could meditate. Somewhere, Adolin was suffering gifts from the men. Probably swords. Lots and lots of swords.
The door closed, and Shallan stood facing herself in the mirror. Her sapphire gown was of an ancient style, with twin drooping sleeves that went far beyond her hands. Small rubies woven into the embroidery glowed with a complementary light. A golden vest draped over the shoulders, matched by the ornate headdress woven into her braids.
She wanted to shrink from it.
“Mmm…” Pattern said. “This is a good you, Shallan.”
A good me. She breathed out. Veil formed on one side of the room, lounging against the wall. Radiant appeared near the table, tapping it with one finger, reminding her that she really should write a prayer—for tradition’s sake, if nothing else.
“We’re decided upon this,” Shallan said.
“A worthy union,” Radiant said.
“He’s good for you, I suppose,” Veil said. “Plus he knows his wine. We could do far worse.”
“But not much better,” Radiant said, giving Veil a pointed look. “This is good, Shallan.”
“A celebration,” Veil said. “A celebration of you.”
“It’s okay for me to enjoy this,” Shallan said, as if discovering something precious. “It’s all right to celebrate. Even if things are terrible in the world, it’s all right.” She smiled. “I … I deserve this.”
Veil and Radiant faded. When Shallan looked back into the mirror, she didn’t feel embarrassed by the attention any longer. It was all right.
It was all right to be happy.
She painted her glyphward, but a knock at the door interrupted burning it. What? The time wasn’t up.
She turned with a grin. “Come in.” Adolin had probably found an excuse to come steal a kiss.…
The door opened.
Revealing three young men in worn clothing. Balat, tallest and round faced. Wikim, still gaunt, with skin as pale as Shallan’s. Jushu, thinner than she recalled, but still plump. All three were somehow younger than she pictured them in her head, even though it had been over a year since she’d seen them.
Her brothers.
Shallan cried out in delight, throwing herself toward them, passing through a burst of joyspren like blue petals. She tried to embrace all three at once, heedless of what it might do to her carefully arranged dress. “How? When? What happened?”
“It was a long trek across Jah Keved,” Nan Balat said. “Shallan … we didn’t hear anything until we were transported here through that device. You’re getting married? The son of the Blackthorn?”
So much to tell them. Storms, these tears were going to ruin her makeup. She’d have to go through it all again.
She found herself too overwhelmed to talk, to explain. She pulled them tight again, and Wikim even complained about the affection, as he always had. She hadn’t seen them in how long, and he still complained? That made her even more giddy, for some reason.
Navani appeared behind them, looking over Balat’s shoulder. “I will call for a delay of the festivities.”
“No!” Shallan said.
No. She was going to enjoy this. She pulled her brothers tight, one after another. “I’ll explain after the wedding. So much to explain…”
Balat, as she hugged him, handed her a slip of paper. “He said to give you this.”
“Who?”
“He said you’d know.” Balat still had the haunted look that had always shadowed him. “What is going on? How do you know people like that?”
She unfolded the letter.
It was from Mraize.
“Brightness,” Shallan said to Navani, “will you provide my brothers with seats of honor?”
“Of course.”
Navani drew the three boys away, joining Eylita, who had been waiting. Storms. Her brothers were back. They were alive.
A wedding gift, Mraize’s note read.
In payment for work done. You will find that I do keep my promises. I apologize for the delay.
I congratulate you on your upcoming nuptials, little knife. You have done well. You have frightened away the Unmade who was in this tower, and in payment, we forgive a part of your debt owed from the destruction of our Soulcaster.
Your next mission is equally important. One of the Unmade seems willing to break from Odium. Our good and that of your Radiant friends align. You will find this Unmade, and you will persuade it to serve the Ghostbloods. Barring that, you will capture it and deliver it to us.
Details will be forthcoming.
She lowered the note, then burned it in the brazier meant for her prayer. So Mraize knew about Sja-anat, did he? Did he know about Renarin accidentally bonding one of her spren? Or was that a secret Shallan actually had over the Ghostbloods?
Well, she could worry about him later. Today, she had a wedding to attend. She pulled open the door and strode out. Toward a celebration.
Of being herself.
* * *
Dalinar entered his rooms, full of food from the wedding feast, glad to finally get some peace after the celebrations. The assassin settled down outside his door to wait, as was becoming his custom. Szeth was the only guard Dalinar had for the moment, as Rial and his other bodyguards were all in Bridge Thirteen—and that whole crew had gone up as squires to Teft.
Dalinar smiled to himself, then walked to his desk and settled down. A Shardblade hung on the wall before him. A temporary place; he’d find it a home. For now, he wanted it near. It was time.
He picked up the pen and started writing.
Three weeks had seen him progress far, though he still felt uncertain as he scratched out each letter. He worked at it a good hour before Navani returned, slipping into their rooms. She bustled over, opening the balcony doors, letting in the light of a setting sun.
A son married. Adolin was not the man Dalinar had thought he was—but then, couldn’t he forgive someone for that? He dipped his pen and continued writing. Navani walked up and placed hands on his shoulders, looking at his paper.
“Here,” Dalinar said, handing it to her. “Tell me what you think. I’ve run into a problem.”
As she read, he resisted the urge to shift nervously. This was as bad as his first day with the swordmasters. Navani nodded to herself, then smiled at him, dipping her pen and making a few notes on his page to explain mistakes. “What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know how to write ‘I.’ ”
“I showed you. Here, did you forget?” She wrote out a few letters. “No, wait. You used this several times in this piece, so you obviously know how to write it.”
“You said pronouns have a gender in the women’s formal script, and I realized that the one you taught me says ‘I, being female.’ ”
Navani hesitated, pen in her fingers. “Oh. Right. I guess … I mean … Huh. I don’t think there is a masculine ‘I.’ You can use the neuter, like an ardent. Or … no, here. I’m an idiot.” She wrote some letters. “This is what you use when writing a quote by a man in the first person.”