Chapter 17The next morning, Troy and Markus were eating together when Markus looked over at Troy and suddenly asked, “Troy, what’s your background? Don’t tell me if you don’t want to, but I’ve wondered.” They hadn’t made love the night before, and it had been clear that Troy was still ambivalent about the Clarionye project.
“You never asked because you didn’t want to tell me yours in return?”
“Yes, sorry.”
“Mine isn’t nearly as dramatic, and there’s no big secret. Ma was a mercenary, and a good one. She rose to the position of what we would call Section Second here, and retired after getting injured. It wasn’t crippling, but enough that she decided to cash out and take a position as Head of Guard for a small noble family near where she’d been born. Da was the Assistant Seneschal and the
