"It would have been easier if you'd just told me from the start," Felih hiccups, trembling as he clings tighter, terrified to let go lest he somehow lose the man all over again. But the Exarch grips his shoulder and suddenly pushes him back, startling him- until he blinks in confusion.

"Lyna...?" Why Lyna? Then again, she was the captain of the guard, and such a crucial figure would be difficult to replace... "She was injured, but alive. I tended her wounds, and told her to rest, but she's stubborn and angry and refused," he replies, ears low.