"I don't want to chase anyone away, but sometimes, it happens anyway…"
The words pierced Jocelynn's heart like an arrow shot from a bow, and for a moment, the tears she'd just forced back threatened to spring forth again. For a man who had been the hero of the battle against the darkness of the Lothian throne to sound so broken and alone… What kind of cruelty had he suffered to feel so lost?
"Well, I'm not going anywhere, unless you make me," Jocelynn said, repositioning herself so she could lean up against the mast beside him with the packed lunch between them. "So, let me keep you company until we reach Maeril. Albyn said you wanted to sleep in the carriage so, since I won't be able to talk to you then, we might as well chat a bit now."
"If, if I'm not disturbing you, that is," she said as she realized that she had no idea how hard it was for him to summon and control the wind that propelled them upriver at such a tremendous speed. "If you need to focus…"
