Aksai rested his elbow on the table, gazing at the Spirit lights that flickered faintly along the garden path.
His mind had been quiet until a new thought tugged at him.
"Nuya," he said after a pause.
"What about Emerald Cove's own people? With all this chaos spreading through the Archipelago, we couldn't have remained untouched.
Um… what I mean is… How bad is it?"
Nuya's expression stiffened slightly. She didn't answer right away. Instead, she looked down at her hands folded on the table, her long fingers tracing the rim of her empty glass. When she finally spoke, her voice was quieter than before.
"We've suffered," she said slowly. "More than I'd like to admit."
Aksai didn't interrupt her.
She sighed and leaned back in her chair, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the pond beyond the gazebo.
