Honeyed Pasture [M] bargaining chip

The directions were easy enough; he even thought that he knew the river she spoke of. The island... not so much. And he was a proficient enough swimmer, but held his breath and kept it steady much less reliably. He'd worry about it at a later date.

"It sounds beautiful," he said, easily picturing the scene. He'd seen many beautiful places in his travels, and he'd filed each one carefully away. Ulysses had taught him to send off the dead with something beautiful whispered in their ear — and then that memory was theirs, and Aureli was not to speak of it again, nor to think of it if he could help it. The practice made them all the more precious to him, and he hoarded them like a dragon until it was time to give one away. Then, he always picked the best that he could think of to offer up like a jewel.

"I will bring gifts," he said, and he meant it, but he was also measuring her openness to the idea. "When the time comes."