Rhys found me exactly when he said he would, waiting near the trade office gate as the last of the day's light softened into evening gold, and something about the simple reliability of it, him actually being where he said he'd be, settled a warmth in my chest I hadn't expected a small thing like punctuality to provide.
"You're still here," he said, echoing his own words from our first meeting, a small smile tugging at his mouth.
"You did ask me to wait," I reminded him.
"I did." He fell into step beside me as we started along the path leading away from the office, toward the quieter gardens near the eastern wall where fewer courtiers tended to wander in the evenings. "I half expected you'd change your mind. Given everything."
"Given what, exactly?"
"Given that you're a princess who sp
