Walter gave me a suspicious look. “I know you think he works me too hard,” he said, and I couldn’t help but duck my head. That was certainly something I’d considered before. “But he tried to let me go in my late thirties.”
I almost choked on my mouthful of food. “Seriously? What happened?” I asked once I swallowed.
Walter held a dry expression. “He didn’t want to get in the way of me having my own family. Apparently, my grandfather had taken that path: he was once Fenris’s assistant, only to leave when he met my grandmother. I can’t be upset about that, of course, or I might not be here.” He paused. “I stayed because I truly enjoy my job—and my family’s role as members of the Order of the Stars. I felt staying was the best way to uphold the oath my ancestors made centuries ago.” He pause
