"It makes it harder to call her an 'asset,'" he said. "She is still on the other side. But now I have seen the receipt for the price she already paid."
Elowen's gaze softened for a second.
"Good," she said. "I like it when the monsters in my service remember the cost of teeth."
He smiled faintly.
"I thought you married me for my charming personality and love of insects," he said.
"A regrettable side effect," she replied dryly.
Lira's grip on the tray eased a little.
On the pane, the hall's etched lines pulsed again.
Somewhere deep below, beyond anyone's eyes, Ashen River's core turned its attention.
It now had a cleaner "profile" of two intruders.
One human vector, walking its halls with stubborn intent.
One non-human network, clinging to its bones like a new kind of parasite.
It began to adjust.
Far from Silvarion, in a dark-tiled chamber in Kharadorn, a scrying crystal chimed.
The seer sitting cross-legged in front of it jerked.
