"Mmm." Half a hum, half a laugh, and already he's smiling again. "Never heard anything that made me want to jump in a Rift more'n that. I'd be after you in a shot. Sorry to the widow and her charming child, that sounds a nice life, but..."

Darras still has an arm around her and he leaves it where it is, draped over her shoulders and holding her close. Her breath is a tickle on his chest, her hand a warm and familiar weight.

"D'you believe in fate?" he asks, after a long silence on his part, right when it seems he might have fallen back to sleep.