After her talk outside, Sholeh felt better enough to come back in. Not cheerful, by any means, but not as unsettled anymore, either. When she saw Caius sitting with his book, she paused in front of him for a moment, waiting to attract his attention.

It was only after Caius stopped reading and set his book aside that Sholeh spoke up. "I wanted to thank you, sir, for your help with all those things," she said. Loyalty made her say, "Zeela had it covered when it was just the one," while honesty made her add, "though I don't think she would have fared so well against the bunch."