LOREN
Loren did say so. And he had a lot more to say on the topics Remi kept bringing up. Seriously, the other man could not possibly be this thick, not after he’d displayed brilliance in so many other ways. The Launceleyn stared at the alchemist, totally incredulous. ”Remi, come on. You don’t need to speak to him about this directly. A passing conversation or comment might make him feel or think differently before he has to make a decision about something. Even something as small as that can influence how he governs. And that’s not even getting into the people who will try to get you to intercede with him on their behalf, or the people who will try to earn favor with him by helping you with something. And the people who will come after you just for being associated with him, to use you to get to him somehow.” Whatever the alchemist might want or feel, he now held enormous power and not just on a personal level, but on a political one. If he failed to recognize and accept that, it could be disastrous, and if he couldn’t accept it, he needed to talk to Ronin about it.If the librarian could hear the other man’s thoughts, he might have commented that their conversations were always more like arguments than anything else, each trying to push the other to be the best version of themselves. As it stood, however, Loren was just grateful when Remi finally relented. ”I will organize my thoughts and my points more coherently and send them to you. Then you can present them to Wessex and Ronin and anyone else you feel might make sense. And I will come in to set up an office for the king and queen in the temple if it would be helpful.” Again, however, the Launceleyn himself would not be engaging in politics; even if he personally had no interest in it, he knew his name was disqualifying at the moment.
Apparently Remi and Ronin both were pessimists about this blight. That was understandable, given all they’d been through together—the king had already died once, after all—but it was worrisome. Sometimes, hope made a difference in the end. However, it just redoubled the summoner’s determination to do everything in his power to find the cure they were all so desperately searching for.
Thankfully, Loren’s mind caught up to his senses a moment before he was going to order his creature to bite down. Frantically, he banished the manticore (which vanished in an instant and with no warning) and sprinted forward, praying to any god that would listen that he hadn’t just hurt or killed the other man. ”Damn it, Remi, I’ve been trained to react to threats and surprises with lethal force. Why the fuck would you do something so reckless?” Fear made the Launceleyn’s tongue perhaps a bit sharper than it should’ve been, but he really was worried for his friend’s life.
A beggar's book
outworths
a noble's blood
