"Roasted duck," Benedict answers easily, straightening-- that Sennara is seated beside him suggests a great honor, and the warmth in the way he regards her doesn't contest it.

"Medium-rare, as it should be, with a glaze of oranges from Par Vollen. Did you enjoy the soup?"

He seems to shimmer right alongside the magnificent dining room and its contents, its guests strangely blurry and difficult to hold in one's gaze.