"There was no time left!" He'd like to stay calm, but she's making it steadily harder. "What else could she have taken from them? She was ready to move, and we all know Elthina didn't give a nug's ass about helping! That night she was already furious with Orsino and prepared."

He shook his head, arms crossed. "The people I'd fought for for so long were all about to die, and they'd all lost all the family they'd ever had. No one protected them. Peace was at the cost of their lives, Aveline, one after another, day after day. The blood of my people paid that price and they received none of the benefits of that peace."

Slowly Anders takes a breath, watching her pacing form. "There was no peace, Aveline. I... Yes, I should have had more faith in people, but there was no time left and none of us had a single good plan among us anyway." It's a small concession. It could easily get ignored.