"Lith chose to stay when walking away would have been much easier. That made me think. Yes, he is an asshole. Yes, he is a flawed man."
"But if he's willing to go that far for a baby who's going to hate him even if they survive, if he fights with such determination for someone who's been part of his life for less than one year, imagine how much Epphy must mean to him.
"Look at this fight, and picture Epphy instead of Valeron. Imagine they've known and loved each other for seventeen years instead of just one."
Menadion took a long pause to let her words sink in.
"What I see here is a man I can trust. Someone who can be for Epphy everything Threin was for me, and even everything he couldn't be for me due to the massive difference in our love and talent for magic.
