impossible reasons

The baker could be as bewildered as she wanted: the summoner had certainly moved on, and if they didn’t like the way it looked, that was their problem, not his. Still, at least she was listening to him. Loren hadn’t really expected Amalia to agree with him. Most people just objected to his comments, or brushed him off as insane or cruel. However, he wasn’t going to go easy on her just because he’d gotten her to come around to her point of view. ”How have we succeeded then?” Indeed, he was quite eager to know. While she might have her own accomplishments, the Launceleyn knew his own legacy was nothing but pain. At least he was causing it on purpose these days. When Amalia finally rose to her feet and grew angry enough to argue back with him, he grinned. Good. This should at least be interesting. ”I never said you hated me. I just asked what you hated about me.” His voice came out teasingly. It seemed maybe he’d hit even closer to home than he’d been intending. ”Probably. But again, you said it, not me.” Indeed, it seemed that the baker had read more into his words than even he’d intended. Maybe the baker should be a little more careful—not that this was her fault, since he was the one pressing the attack—in how she responded to him. This time, he wasn’t going to back off if she got hurt or upset. The truth of the matter was, they were strangers, and not friends, and he barely knew anything about her. That meant the damage he should be able to inflict was minimal. Of course, if she was already fragile (which seemed likely) he might just be the straw that broke the leopardess’ back. LOREN Not quite an open book