"You must be Astrid," a voice said to her right.
Astrid turned to see that Jace had somehow managed to approach without her noticing. She swallowed her anxiety and nodded. "That's me."
"Raiden's told me a lot about you," Jace said, studying her face. "It's good to meet you."
"I'm sure it's all greatly exaggerated," Astrid said. She couldn't help but smile at him. He had a good-natured aura about him, and she was surprised to find that the anxiety she had been feeling was dissipating as they spoke. "I'm sorry Kallen treated you the way he did," she added quietly.
Jace shook his head. "There's no need to apologize," he said. "His words weren't sharp enough to pierce anything important."
They stood in silence for a moment, then Astrid asked tentatively, "Have you ever been to Starfell Ke
