The silence that resumed to stretch between Elder Xara and I after that, was a silence like no other—it was deafening. She simply continued to stand there, simply staring at me. I could tell that she was waiting for me to say something—what it was, I wouldn’t know. I felt like I had already said everything that I needed to say. I had no intention of rekindling my previous plans to marry Dae, and I wasn’t going to allow her to make me feel like I needed to be shamed by repeating that fact.
I didn’t even know why I was still standing here. I had been on my way out before she had spoken, but it seemed like there was a part of me that wanted to follow the rules of propriety and wait for her. It meant that I was going to be waiting here a very long time, if what was happening now was any cons
