"All right, Valttair. You asked me here. Tell me what you want to talk about."
Valttair did not answer at once. He poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher and returned it to the table without drinking, while Roderic watched from the opposite chair.
They had known each other for decades, long enough that neither mistook silence for hesitation, and had sat across from one another over border disputes, trade agreements and arguments that would have ended in blood with lesser men.
Roderic rested one arm against the chair.
"You have never needed a private room to tell me House Vaelion has displeased you. If this were simply another disagreement between our families, you would have saved us both the trouble and said it in the main hall."
