Something flickered across Aldric's face... not agreement, but maybe the beginning of consideration.
"As for ulterior motives..." I leaned forward slightly. "If I wanted to harm Soren, I could have done so a dozen times already. We've been alone together. Vulnerable. I've had opportunities that would make your blood run cold if you knew about them."
I saw him trying very hard not to imagine what those opportunities might have entailed.
"Instead," I continued, "I'm here. In this room. Asking for your help learning how to govern an empire I have no claim to and no particular desire to destroy. So either I'm playing an extraordinarily long game that requires extensive education in Nevareth's tax structures..."
I let my tone suggest exactly how absurd that sounded, "...or perhaps I'm exactly what I appear to be: a woman who made a political alliance and intends to honor it."
