“How did you know it mattered so much to me?” While it wasn’t a secret, it also isn’t something I’ve told him. He shrugs. “Ilryth,” I say with a probing tone, so he knows he’s not getting out of this. “There were a few times, when you were setting sail, that I caught glimpses of you.” “You visited me?” I whisper. “Why?” “You fascinated me.” He gestures to the room. A room of seafaring “treasures.” Even though I had my suspicions, I also had my doubts; it couldn’t all be because of me…could it? “Besides, I had to make sure my protections on you were still strong,” he adds offhandedly.
