"Yes. I want to marry him, Jeda."

Her sister picked up the bouquet from the washstand and weighed it in her hands, as if it was a physical manifestation of her options. "You know he will be gone much of the time with his work. You will be alone."

"Only at first," Velnya assured her. "He's going to speak to his master and ask to be set free. He's more than paid his blood debt. Once he does, he will come home to stay. "

"And will his master let him go?"

It ...