no reason to do it alone

and I tried to remember how nice it had been

”More than earned it,” Vai echoes, lifting her glass in a toast to that, sipping at her iced tea and letting out a breath of relief for the respite it brings from the heat. ”Still, it could have been a lot worse, had you not had someone watching over you.” Her smile fades a bit at the mere thought, and silently she reaches across to touch her hand to Remi’s. He’ll feel the surge of protectiveness from her, no doubt, but she’s forgotten all about it for the time being.

Then he brings up Torchline and her hand slips away again, Vai nibbling at her lower lip. ”He mentioned that you didn’t want to be Governor any more,” she says with a gentle nod. ”It’s a brave thing, to step down. Braver still to do it in a way that puts Torchline’s people first.” She brightens a bit again, at that.

a long long time ago

Vervain