Mom had tried to explain to me. Aegis was so blindly devoted because the Redbriars had spared no effort in manipulating him, ever since he was a child, to turn him into the perfect bodyguard for their use. I should try to understand them, she always told me, and then I wouldn’t be so angry at them. But Mom wasn’t here, because while Mom extended her generosity, the Redbriars never, ever returned the favor.
