The Rhysgarrds may have come up with some way to get into the world.
For her.
They had to get her away. If only to save everyone else.
Dhomhes cleared his throat in the hologram, drawing her attention back to it. “I may have a better solution to that.”
"Here, you need to eat," Stron said, pushing the charcuterie plate to Adryel. He'd ordered it after the hologram with Khalzin — evidently, wherever they were, there was room service, and he felt comfortable eating here.
Adryel was on the fence still.
"You haven't really told me where we are." She picked up a cracker and nibbled on it.
"The Baron of Information, Baron Aukrae's private residence."
She raised an eyebrow. "That's a Coalition member, isn't it? He has a home that's connected to the underground?"
Stron smiled. "He's the Baron of Information. His job is to know things. He needs sources."
"And you just happen to know where the back door is?"
"Occasionally, when I was younger, I would need a place to recover, discretely, from my wilder escapades. Many of us Gol-Vetts have stayed here when needed."
"In exchange for what?"
Stron shrugged. "Mostly, just sharing any interesting gossip we heard or saw."
"So you spied in the clubs for him." She shook her head. "Not that different than me, after all, are you, Stron?"
"I'm very different from you. My skin is red. I have horns."
She rolled her eyes and took a few more bites. "So how long until we need to go meet the others?"
"Dhomhes said it would take a couple of hours to get everything ready both on the dark side and with the other off-worlders here." He glanced at her. "If you're tired, you can get some rest."
She twirled a strand of her curls that had fallen down around her finger. Exhaled a breath. "This chaos is all because of me, you know."
"It's not all because of you."
She raised an eyebrow. "The fact that a crime family who is under investigation has tried to end my life by sabotaging an entire government program says it's very much my fault, Stron."
He put his arm around her.
And damn if it wasn't comforting. She leaned into him, surprised at how natural it felt to be so close to him.
To anyone.
"It's not your fault, Adryel. You didn't choose this. You just wanted to get away from Kerde. From all of it. You came here for a new lease on existence."
"True enough," she said.
His embrace felt comfortable. Maybe too comfortable.
"Why did you kiss me?"
"For cover," he said after a moment.
"You could have pulled me against you, done really anything, but you didn't have to kiss me."
