Deliberation

Selene said nothing, and looked at Hortus with wide brown almond eyes. “After so long?”

“It’s Madir,” he insisted. “Not me.”

“You always liked planes,” Roslyn said. “And you were showing our Eilish how to build those little wooden models. Didn’t she love them, Gale?”

“More than any of her other gifts,” I agreed.

Hortus ran his fingers through his cropped hair and fixed his eyes on the tray, at the dice that he had thrown. “Back to the game. I’ll finish off the enemy commander.”