The silence was suddenly too charged, his face too beautiful in the light.

The silence brought back everything around her.

I will not afraid

Another long silence, then a sigh. "Not in one way," Chaol said. "I bet he would have wanted you to survive--to live. So you didn't fail him, not in that regard

Afraid she and I had a summer romance?" That insufferable grin was still there."I hope you did. I certainly enjoyed myself this summer."The smile faded at that. "What do you mean?"She brushed an invisible fleck of dust off her red gown. "Let's just say that the son of the Mute Master was far more welcoming than the other Silent Assassins.

He couldn't be dead. Not from the dagger, or those dozen pirates, or from the catapult. No, Sam couldn't be so stupid that he'd get himself killed. She'd... she'd... Well she'd kill him if he was dead.

Sam smiled, his brown eyes turning golden in the dawn. It was such a Sam look, the twinkle of mischief, the hint of exasperation, the kindness that would always, always make him a better person than she was.

Nervous?" he asked, his voice barely audible above the steady slice of his oars through the calm bay. "No," she lied."Me too.

As the memory of that day echoed through her, she remembered the words Sam kept screaming at Arobynn, as the King of the Assassins beat her, the words that she'd somehow forgotten in the fog of pain: I'll kill you! Sam had said it like he meant it. He'd bellowed it, again and again and again...