He found her alone before they left Bevelle, intending to say in private all the things he needed to without the audience of politics at his back. He wanted to thank her, genuinely, for everything – for doing the right thing, surely; but also for the Eternal Calm; for the new beginning; for merely being alive and an inspiration to all. Here, alone, his pride and good taste kept him from falling to his knees to revel in her glory, yet almost in spite of himself, he lavished on the honeysweet praise...

And stopped. She feared him, and he didn’t understand.