“Zylas spun on his chair to face me. “Payilas. I will not harm your allies.” I resisted an unexpected sting of tears. “Thank you, Zylas.” “If you were not so weak, you would not need any allies but me.” My sappy gratitude evaporated. “Every time you say something nice, you ruin it.” “We talked about nice.”

“Zylas spun on his chair to face me. “Payilas. I will not harm your allies.” I resisted an unexpected sting of tears. “Thank you, Zylas.” “If you were not so weak, you would not need any allies but me.” My sappy gratitude evaporated. “Every time you say something nice, you ruin it.” “We talked about nice.”

— Annette Marie