Episode 3 Sneak Peek #2

Spoilers ahead! A little bit of a conversation between Zenaida and Veyer. (Hopefully by next week I'll be out of their scene and we can catch up with one of the other paths. ;) )

Zenaida’s nostrils flare.

Sensing an oncoming quarrel, you turn your back on them and cross the courtyard to assist Malsara with the boat. The assassin barely acknowledges you when you arrive and reluctantly passes you the rope. You take it and begin pulling at the knots, keeping a careful eye on the arguing mages.

“…and here I’d hoped you’d be amenable to the idea,” Zenaida says. “You voted for my proposal, after all.”

Veyer wags a finger at a her. “Ah, but you forget. I accepted that loss with good grace—”

“Loss,” she interrupts bitterly. “You’ve lost very little, tucked away in the safety of the Imperial court. What did you risk for Lethalis in thirty years while your brethren sacrificed their work, their reputations, and their very lives—?”

“My autonomy, Your Grace.” Veyer stands straight, their hands stiff at their sides, all trace of their usual impish humour gone. “Do not speak to me of the Imperial court. I have bent to the whims of House Nesarian longer than you have been alive.”

She recoils as if stung. “You know what we’re up against,” she says after a moment, regaining her composure. “I welcome the aid of an ally.”

“Ally?” They arch an eyebrow. “How fanciful. I’ve never been described that way.”

She smiles hollowly and turns, keeping to the shadows as she moves briskly towards the anchorage.

“But I want something in return, Your Grace,” Veyer calls, dogging her heels. “For my services, of course.”

“Alliances are not transactional, Savant Krellion,” she says. “We either accomplish this together or not at all—”

They catch up and slip by, keeping an even pace as they walk backwards before her. “Oh, but they are! I do something for you, you do something for me. It’s called being a giving person, Your Grace. You should ask $firstname about it sometime.”