Ahnasha's words did cause some measure of relief in Monderyn and Llarasa.

"Well, that's plenty of time," Llarasa said, leaning forward and keeping both hands on her drink. "Will all of you be staying?"

Fendros nodded. "We want to try and avoid anything getting out of hand." He softened. "It's also a good opportunity to see you all."

Monderyn remained tense. "What exactly should we do?" he asked. "Ahnasha, how much does your family know about us? Couldn't we just ask them to be reserved around mother and father? Perhaps not try to come to conflict with father at all?"

[hr]
Harriet took every word with an unimpressed scowl. Her head was tilted slightly to one side. Lorag's return to accusations, particularly his physical contact, tested Harriet's patience.

"Lorag, I ain't one of your fucking recruits on drill," Harriet said. "We don't owe each other anything. Truth is, I didn't expect you to come back. When you left, you made yourself damn clear that you didn't want to deal with any of this. Yeah, I killed Jerrick, but it's not as if I could'a changed that fact when I learnt I was gonna have a kid." She shrugged. "Did I cry? Did I complain and stamp my feet? No, I shut up and got to work." She sighed through her teeth. "This is about you and your personal problems, not me."