Is Adelina Nettlepurse still in love with me?It would make sense, after all. Adelina would hardly be the first to fall. My conquests range from the Heliotrope Sorceress to the upper echelons of Tabatian society, even the Duke himself. Everyone loves Gladiators, a fact I’ve been happy enough to take advantage of over the past two decades.It’s a question of fairness, though. Am I really betraying her, capitalizing on Adelina’s fondness for me? Do I provide nothing in exchange? A troubling thought, even for someone who doesn’t follow the Trade Gods, who doesn’t reckon life as a series of exchanges.I walk along the edge of the high limestone wall that edges the Nettlepurse estate and its great gardens, balancing with practiced ease. All three moons are in the sky. Their light glints like signal fires on the shards of dragon-glass inlaid along the wall’s top, spelled to bite deep into an intruder’s hand. Red, white, white, purple. Purple, white, red, white, white, white, white.What is it about Adelina that keeps me from pushing her away, long after our romantic entanglement?
