I glance at him sideways. His own daggers are sheathed, the scabbards integrated into the back of his lamellar leather vest, the pommels protruding from behind him, criss-crossed. Familiar leather bands like thin plaited rope are strapped around his veiny biceps.
"Then who in this world do you trust?"
"Trusted," he amends brusquely. "He perished, and with it, my trust in anyone."
I mull over his words, ruminating on all I know about him. "One thing I knew of you before the Imperii is that you were famously close companions with the Dophan."
He shakes his head grimly. "I only knew him as Alejendio. Little Aljay."
I smile softly at the adorable nickname. "How did you two meet?"
"We did not meet. We clashed," he says and a small, nostalgic chuckle flows with his words. "Our paths collided one fateful night. Do you want to hear the short story or the full version?"
