บท 114: What exactly constitutes an attempt?

Trace watched Anaisa as she stared up at him with her sparkling eyes. His gut wrenched.

"No, we can't go home yet." He told her sadly. The fact that she called it home elated him. She meant to stay with him! And yet, all that still stood between them might prove too great an obstacle. "You really want to?"

The question was vulnerable. He hadn't shown her his insecurities on this before, and she breathed in.

"It looks like Denholm is going to wriggle his way into marrying Sapphira. I don't want to be around for that. For him to recognize me, and harass me. I want to be far away from here." She frowned, and so did Trace.

The hope that her motivation was solely to be with him had been a foolish one.

"I'll take you home as soon as I can," He promised.

"That means the scheme isn't over yet, doesn't it?" Anaisa lifted her hand to her hair and tore off her mask to look up at him.