"Next time you go to open your mouth to her, consider this," Paeter said sharply. "If Ariadne deserts you I do not fancy your odds of reaching Dragonblight alive. I'm not convinced you can get there WITH her help."<br/><br/>"Dad," Nathan said, looking slightly alarmed as he came over with another drink.<br/><br/>"I'm sorry Nathan," he said ruffling his hair. "Adult emotions are...complicated, go to bed, we'll be fine." Once Nathan was out of earshot he turned back to Barty. "Dragons rarely fight wars in ways other races do. A Trollstorm is when dragons drive Trolls south, then come the Thunder Lizards, whelps and...whatever other nightmares populate the slopes of Dragonblight. And then, if by some miracle you can survive those, then come the dragons. One of those would be the match for a full army, and no-one knows how many populate the Blight. However, if it was imminent we would know already, which means you have time to persuade Stormrider he can get what he wants without cutting a swathe through the southern lands."<br/><br/><br/>"I know Paeter didn't mean to upset me," Ariadne said, turning to her to reveal a tear-stained face. "But...you must understand, love among Elves does not work the way it does among humans. It is supposed to last for life, and yet..." she looked down at her ring. "I chose to leave one back on the island, and then I sent the next to her death. My...reaction to you is not unfinished business with past love, it is the fear that I could never make you happy. You're incredible, you're beautiful, you're..." She felt herself laughing between the tears. "And now I've just made our journey north more awkward without even trying."