A week after Garyon's arrival, I sat with Elise and Aerion in a carriage headed to the primary Splitbark Estate. The morning light was soft, dappling through the shaded curtains, breaking into shadow as we crossed beneath the massive canopies of the old city.
"You really didn't have to come," Elise said, "It's just a diplomatic visit, not a big official affair like our audience."
"I know. But I didn't want you to go alone."
Despite her words, she gave me a grateful smile, reaching over and grabbing my hand.
"Alone? What does that make me?" Aerion asked with mock outrage.
Elise stuck her tongue out at him. "Dead weight."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Surely this proves that the elvish state is broken. No other nation in the world would dare call an eighth-level being 'dead weight.'"
"Oh, no, Selena isn't dead weight," Elise said.
