20: Thoumire

Thoumire had never wanted to be a decorative woman, hung off the some nobleman's arm as a symbol of wealth and power.

Admittedly, she sometimes dreamed about Sancius. He'd married, of course, and had three children. She could hardly imagine how different her life would have been. But Hermus and Corentin's fight had ended her hopes of a marriage to the younger Vaillancourt brother. She'd stood with her family, and she forced herself not to regret it.

She would never have had this life without the duel. She had her studies, her spells, her books, and she was happy. Mostly.