Page 299 of Salt Between the Wolves

Eira looked away, not toward Soren or the waiting warriors, but toward the mountains rising beyond White Pass.

For a moment she said nothing, and when she finally spoke, her voice had grown quieter.

"Do you remember the summer market in Stonewater?"

A faint crease appeared between Vargan's brows, as though the question had not been what he expected.

"Yes."

Of course he remembered, because Vargan remembered everything.

"I was thirteen."

The memory arrived with surprising clarity: the crowded streets, the smell of smoke and spices, merchants shouting over one another, and travelers from kingdoms she had only seen on maps.

"I wanted to travel south."

Recognition appeared immediately in Vargan's expression.

"You wanted to leave with a merchant caravan."

"I wanted to see the world."

"You were thirteen."

A faint smile touched Eira's mouth.

"You spent two hours explaining why it was impossible."

"I explained why it was dangerous."

"Yes, you did," she said, and the answer carried no anger, which somehow made it sharper.

"You explained the roads, the bandits, the weather, the politics, and all the reasons it could go wrong. Looking back, you were probably right about most of them."

For the first time, uncertainty appeared in Vargan's expression, subtle but unmistakably real.

Eira continued before he could answer.

"The problem wasn't that you said no."

The wind moved through the pass, tugging at her cloak and carrying the distant sounds of soldiers and horses across the valley.

"The problem was that I already knew the answer before I asked."

Silence settled between them.

"I knew it before I opened my mouth, because the answer was always waiting for me."

Her gaze returned to him.

"It didn't matter whether I wanted to travel south, stay in Frostvein, study with the elders, or spend my days doing something entirely different. There was always a reason, always an explanation, and eventually I stopped asking because I already knew what you would decide."

Something shifted in Vargan's face, not dramatically, but enough.

For the first time since the conversation began, Eira had the distinct impression that he was no longer preparing his next argument, but was truly listening.

"I thought I was protecting you."