“He did not love his wife,” the Emperor said. “And she shared neither his bed nor his counsel. No. The Acts was written by Catherine the White. She was his closest companion, and the mother of his son. His real mother.” My understanding only grew sharper. “Victor Sebastos?” I asked, naming the second Emperor. “Victor the Bastard,” the Emperor replied with bloody emphasis. “Impatian’s histories are mostly lies, I fear. Victor’s pedigree was common knowledge in his day, but the Throne and the Chantry both have painted over it in the eons since.”
