AESIR
The first thing I did after rereading Lani’s letter another five times was return to the conference room. The second thing I did was stare blankly at an entire presentation without hearing a single word.
Apparently grain tariffs were still being discussed and I couldn’t have cared less. Not when a folded letter sat over my heart like a second pulse. Not when every few minutes my mind repeated the same sentence. You may stop sleeping in the guest chambers.
The advisor speaking must have asked me a question at some point because suddenly everyone was looking at me. I blinked. “What?” A painful silence followed.
Eva coughed into her hand. One of the ministers looked mildly concerned. I cleared my throat. “Proceed.” Thankfully, nobody questioned me further.
The meeting eventually en
