us." She swallowed in a dry throat. "Anest . . . I am afraid! I fear what my use of this periapt may do to both of us. Belloc has said that I am now master of this stone, but even before that, my life is bound to yours."
Anest was long lost in thought, chin resting on his steepled fingertips, elbows propped on his knees. At last, he said, "You needn't fear for me." He closed his eyes, seemed to struggle with himself a moment. But at last, he said very quietly, "But there is a thing I must say to you.
"Lily, there is a chance that the power of the Summoning Stone can give you back your freedom."
His words struck home like icewater, and Lily replied in a flat, constricted voice, "I once read almost those exact words before, in a book in Belloc's library." Raising her chin to face him directly, steeling herself, she said, "I do not wish for that kind of freedom. But if you ask it of me, I will make the attempt, and if successful, we will make our way from here as separate individuals."
Though shocked by Lily's words, both of them pale and unmoving for a long, stricken moment, at the last, Anest forced himself to articulate what was foremost in his mind. "Lily . . . I want what is best for you. Your being joined to me . . . it was done without your choice or consent. I would rather you be with me because you choose to be with me . . . not because you have no other choice."