Claudia waved him off with a scoff. "Don't be disgusting. No, not that." She leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyes alight. "You said you were going to ask her to marry you."
Eric set the glass down. "Right. Of course." He shrugged. "She said no."
"What? How? What?!" Claudia nearly choked, sitting upright.
"Killing your husband in the future," Eric said flatly, "kind of a deal breaker."
"Oh," she said softly. "I see. You want me to talk to her. I could share my experience."
"No," Eric said immediately, sharper than intended. "No. That will just scare her even further. There is no rush, Mother. What will be will be. She needs time."
"John called me today," she said, changing course. "He says you assigned him to go with me to search for the priestess."
Eric nodded once. "I'm not letting you go off to gods know where without protection."
Claudia arched a brow. "Is it protection," she asked lightly, "or do you want someone who can talk me out of it?"
