Wheeling Gull Isle but sleep won't set me free

She heard him coming but paid him little mind until he spoke, upon which she turned and fixed him with a gaze cold as the ground beneath her. My blood's already cold, Maegi remarked curtly, looking him up and down.

A relative newcomer, given that she didn't recognize him much. And far different from the other seawolves, who had treated her with nothing but warmth and kindness. The scorn in his voice and face was unmistakable.

But then. . .perhaps he was only trying to jest, and it was Maegi upon whom the humor was lost.

I like being close to the earth, she continued, not rising an iota to greet the man. She felt the scrutiny of his deep blue eyes like a beam of sunlight in high summer. Searing, inexorable. I'll plant herbs here when the weather warms up. For now, I wait.