“I have asked for your help,” I told him, “on the matter of my brother. Only to be harshly refused.”
King Zavan’s expression remained unchanged, save for a slight twitch of his brow. Why he would think I would have dropped the subject of my brother so easily, I didn’t care to know.
What mattered to me was he was letting me speak, even if he was grinding his teeth through it.
“I had not asked you for anything before, but the one thing that is important enough to me that I reasoned, begged, and bargained for– offering myself– you decline?” I shook my head to ward the flush of my face away. “Of course I cannot see you as reliable.”
King Zavan’s mouth twisted as he said, “You are asking of me for something I cannot promise.”
“Why? Because of so-called treason from nearly a decades past?”
