LOREN
Idly, Loren wondered who her best friends were. From the deference she showed to Ronin, he doubted that it was the king, but maybe so. It was more likely that it was Remi, however. ”I know I did, and I know there’s no way to make up for that. But I’m sorry for all the pain I put your friend through.” At least, Loren assumed it was a him: it belatedly occurred to him that Phoebe might’ve been talking about Edy or Zariah or even Beatrix. Still, despite the fact that they were family, the two men were the ones at the front of the summoner’s mind.As she insisted that she didn’t have time to educate him, Loren decided to switch up tactics again. ”Well, maybe I can help you with whatever you are working on, and you can tell me a little bit about what's being going on along the way.” It made sense to him, and if she was as stressed and as angry as she seemed, maybe she could use an extra pair of hands. Somehow, though, he figured her reluctance had less to do with being busy and more to do with her dislike of the Launceleyn and her personal hang ups.
Silently he listened to the full explanation of what was going on with the blight. He’d gotten snippets of it here and there, but having it laid out in full was another thing entirely. When she finished, he breathed out, sympathy etched on his features. ”I’m sorry. I didn’t know. And I’m sorry to hear that you’re sick. You probably don’t want it, but if there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.” It was understandable, now, why she might be reluctant to give over supplies to those she viewed as enemies. ”But I’m not an Ascended and I’m doing this for Remi more than her.” In his mind, it seemed that the Voice was the culprit, and the Ascended were unwitting pawns. Of course, that was assuming he trusted the blonde’s judgment (which he didn’t) and assuming that the correlation implied causation (which he also knew to be false). Indeed, there were lots of holes he could poke in her supposition.
However, he’d heard fervor before, and knew that he, of all people, wouldn’t be able to get through to her. Especially as she continued to cast aspersions against him and insist that he bother Ronin with this, when the king had much more important matters to spend his time on. ”I’ll have him come see you.” But if the other man was pissed, well, that was on her; there was a lot of blame to be laid at Loren’s feet, but even he wouldn’t take responsibility for this.
He gazed down at those hands she mentioned, which were calloused. The left one held thin scars from all the times he’d sliced it to power his magic. Still, it was nothing compared to the rest of his body. ”Not really. I enjoyed it, actually.” Then, without allowing him to think too hard about what he was doing, he stripped off his shirt, exposing the mass of scars that was his skin and the ribs that stuck out much too far. It made a much more powerful statement that she had no idea what he’d been through than anything he could say.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
