AARYN
She was small for an Anima—because she was human before she became Anima. She'd been trained for silence by his uncle Gahrye, and taking advantage of her lighter bodyweight she had developed a creepy ability to move around and appear suddenly next to you, without warning.
She put a cool hand to his arm and looked up at him. "I saw what you did, rushing in to help her—and me—when everyone else was fleeing. Thank you. You're a good male, Aaryn."
He felt his cheeks heat. "It wasn't—"
"Yes. It was," she said firmly, reminding Aaryn of the saying the King—Reth—had always used about her. 'Though she be small, she is fierce.' Reth always laughed when he said it—and always stopped laughing when she gave him one of her looks. Aaryn had been on the receiving end of the mother-version of those looks. He understood why even the King—former King—stepped small around them.
