“I . . . I wonder. I wonder if I am the right man for this work. If I had . . . if I had learned more, if I had been given more time to practice, if I had practiced harder . . .” “You wonder if it would have made a difference,” Alera said. “Yes.” She considered the question gravely. Then she sat down on the floor beside the stool, folding her legs beneath her. “There’s no way to be certain of things that never took place.” “I know.” “You agree. Yet you still feel that way about it.” Tavi nodded. They were both silent for a time. “Good men,” she said quietly, “must feel as you do. Or they are
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