Roan stood free in the scattering dark, and for a long moment he didn't answer.
The army was dissolving around us rogue clans melting back into the lawless night now that the grievance holding them together lay dead in the dirt. No one was watching Roan. No blade was at his spine. The one man who'd have killed him on sight was dead. He had every exit a man could want and a lifetime of practice taking them.
"You want to know what I want," Roan said finally, "when nothing's forcing my hand. That's a crueler question than the blade, Wren. You know that."
"I know."
"Because I don't know the answer. I've never once in my life gotten to want something. I was placed inside Ironfang as a boy to watch for the true heir. I've been a tool aimed at other people's ends since before I can remember D
