Wapun Meadow the smell of home, like sour peaches and linen

Two parts of him pulled in different directions. The coward in him won this time. He shook his head slowly and said, there is something I must take care of. It wasn't a lie. Astara's skull could not be left for scavengers and thieves. It didn't need to be done right this second, however.

With a lump in his throat that tasted like bitter self-loathing, Aventus let Arielle walk away alone, and went his own way, mired in a sense of imminent doom.