She knew the knowledge would hurt him. Worse, she was afraid he would blame the accusation on her own jealousy, and she was aware they didn’t have time to quarrel. They needed to work together to foil Valborga. Joel stared at her, frowning. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said at last. “I’ve known Vee forever.” “No, you haven’t. You’ve known her a few years. I’ve known her considerably longer.” “Then why didn’t you tell me before?” “I only just recognized her! I was with you, holding your hand, perfectly happy, even feeling magnanimous toward her, and then she turned around and it was if her mask slipped. She saw at once that I knew her. That’s why she grabbed me and put some kind of sleeping spell on me. I was so afraid I was going under for another thousand years and that you’d be dead when I woke!” She couldn’t help throwing both arms around him once more, and he hugged her convulsively.
