“Do you really want to go back?” he says, and the way he’s looking at me is piercing, like he knows every emotion I’m not voicing. I inhale like I’m ready to breathe fire. I’m tempted to hit him with a crutch. I’m ready to snap at him that I’m busy, that I don’t need his pity, that I don’t need some stupid spoiled lord from the Crystal City to interfere with my life when I’m in the middle of trying to save the forge through unscrupulous means.
