He imagined Orla Jareni raising an eyebrow. Indeed, he knew exactly what she’d say if she were here: Why are you comparing yourself with a fiction constructed by the media of the Republic? You’re doing the best you can at this time. No one can ask more. So loosen up already. If she’d actually been present to speak the words, he might even have been able to believe her. Stellan had the sudden, irrational thought, I am being punished for my pride. For thinking I knew better than Avar Kriss, that I alone knew the right course of action to take against the Nihil, for Starlight— But was it his
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