Age showed in the loose skin around his wrists and the trembling of the hands holding his spoon. Beyond them, the dark window reflected a man whose attendants had to help him lift his legs into bed.
He was afraid of dying. Of course he was.
The fear followed him into his appointments and lay beside him through the hours when sleep refused to come. He could afford whatever treatment anyone offered, and every consultation still ended with a discussion of managing what remained.
The woman he had watched die was standing beside Kaiden, alive and strong.
Edmund wanted that so badly that tears blurred Taigi's face.
"We should speak to his people," he said.
"I can contact Eclipse's office."
"Do that. I'd like to discuss funding their settlement. Housing, whatever infrastructure they need. We can make ourselves useful."
His assistant hesitated over the tablet.
"We haven't heard the conditions yet."
"Then we'll listen while you find the number."
