Finding that middle ground took a couple of hours. When I finally left the council chamber, I found Uncle Dylan asleep on the couch where I'd left him. He had his arms flung out to the sides, across the back of the couch, and his head was leaned so far back that his mouth dropped open a little; a prime pose for snoring. Unfortunately, my Uncle Dylan was too perfect to snore and slept peacefully without a single sound. I shook his shoulder, and he even woke up peacefully; his body gracefully shifting back into an upright position as he opened his eyes and placed them unerringly on me.
"We can go now." I looked over his tired eyes. "Thanks for waiting for me."
"It's quite all right." He gave me a sleep-softened smile. "You're my blood."
"You know, you're not half bad for a relative of min
