Page 161 of The Well of Ascension

Vin nodded.

“It attacked and pillaged the city of Suisna earlier.”

Vin felt a start of fright. Suisna was only a day away from Luthadel. The koloss were close.

“The refugees came to my father for help,” Zane said. “He sent them on to you.”

“To make the people of the city more afraid,” Vin said. “And to provide a further drain on our resources.”

Zane nodded. “I wanted to give you warning. Both of the refugees, and of my orders. Think about my offer, Vin. Think about this man who claims to love you. You know he doesn’t understand you. If you leave, it will be better for both of you.”

Vin frowned. Zane bowed his head slightly to her, then jumped into the night, Pushing against the metal rooftop. She still didn’t believe him about Elend. He could see that in her eyes.

Well, proof was coming. She’d soon see. She’d soon understand what Elend Venture truly thought of her.

35

But I do so now. Let it be known that I, Kwaan, Worldbringer of Terris, am a fraud.

It felt like she was going to a ball again.

The beautiful maroon gown would have fit in perfectly at one of the parties she had attended during the months before the Collapse. The dress was untraditional, but not unfashionable. The changes simply made the dress seem distinctive.

The alterations left her freer to move; let her walk more gracefully, turn more naturally. That, in turn, made her feel even more beautiful. Standing before her mirror, Vin thought of what it might have been like to wear the dress to a real ball. To be herself—not Valette, the uncomfortable country noblewoman. Not even Vin, the skaa thief. To be herself.

Or, at least, as she could imagine herself. Confident because she accepted her place as a Mistborn. Confident because she accepted her place as the one who had struck down the Lord Ruler. Confident because she knew that the king loved her.

Maybe Icouldbe both,Vin thought, running her hands down the sides of the dress, feeling the soft satin.

“You look beautiful, child,” Tindwyl said.

Vin turned, smiling hesitantly. “I don’t have any jewelry. I gave the last of it to Elend to help feed the refugees. It was the wrong color to go with this dress anyway.”

“Many women use jewelry to try and hide their own plainness,” Tindwyl said. “You don’t have that need.”

The Terriswoman stood with her usual posture, hands clasped before her, rings and earrings sparkling. None of her jewelry, however, had gemstones; in fact, most of it was made from simple materials. Iron, copper, pewter. Feruchemical metals.

“You haven’t been in to see Elend lately,” Vin said, turning back to the mirror and using a few wooden barrettes to hold her hair back.

“The king is quickly approaching the point where he no longer needs my instruction.”

“He’s that close then?” Vin asked. “To being like the men from your biographies?”

Tindwyl laughed. “Goodness, no, child. He’s quite far from that.”

“But—”

“I said he would no longer need my instruction,” Tindwyl said. “He is learning that he can rely only so much upon the words of others, and has reached the point where he will have to learn more for himself. You would be surprised, child, how much about being a good leader simply comes from experience.”

“He seems very different to me,” Vin said quietly.

“He is,” Tindwyl said, walking forward to lay a hand on Vin’s shoulder. “He is becoming the man that he always knew he would have to be—he just didn’t know the path. Though I am hard on him, I think he would have found his way, even if I hadn’t come. A man can only stumble for so long before he either falls or stands up straight.”

Vin looked at her mirror self, pretty in its maroon dressings. “This is whatIhave to become. For him.”

“For him,” Tindwyl agreed. “And for yourself. This is whereyouwere heading, before you got distracted.”

Vin turned. “Are you going to come with us tonight?”

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