Felisan, Governor of Alpinon, recalls the battle in which he and Jharan
were certain they would be slain. On their way to Glenhallow, Eliani and
her kindred must pass the battlefield at Skyruach, site of the greatest
ælven conflict centuries before. As she and her kin listen to her
father, Felisan, tell of the battle, she ponders the difficult decisions
she must make when they reach the city where Turisan awaits her. Must
she accept and use the mind speech she shares with him? Should she agree
to his request that they hand fast? Either way, her life will never be
the same. The Last Stand was cut from the first novel of the Blood of
the Kindred series, The Betrayal. The Three Shades is the story of the
great waterfall near Highstone, also mentioned in The Betrayal, and
first appeared in the collection Many Paths.