Sunbeam Lair A husband waits outside

I know, Perhaps a bit sharp, those words — but hadn't she given up so much already? Her daughters left at Kvarsheim; her husband at Witch Island; all her dreams and her wishes scattered to the winds. All because he would use it against her. All because it could be nothing but kindling until her father lay dead.

Dozens of words sharper than the first lingered at the tip of her tongue, little knives balancing by the points until she saw the softness in his gaze. All her sharp edges crumbled away then. A tiny halting sigh slipped from her, and Reverie's golden eyes filled with tears.

I know. Softer this time, filled with the gratitude and sorrow she could not put into words.

But you won't always be. I have to - I have to get close to him. When it's time. And then...

Reverie trailed off. Of course they both knew where it all might lead — but she'd always been Atlas's favored daughter. She'd just never realized how high the cost of that title truly was.