It's harrowing, Cynric, really it is. Except...the months David's been away - and maybe some of his behavior before he went away - destroyed some of the mystique he'd once had, for Zoe. She's not afraid of him anymore, no matter what his place in the Deck.

So, perhaps it isn't so harrowing.

"I suppose you could say my fiance makes a good post for clinging to," she says, "but I'm finding that I'm managing to tread water without having to hold on that much."