Nevara
The first person to arrive was Elena, which was ridiculous considering she had already met Shelly several times.
“I wanted to make it official,” she said as she stepped into the sitting room with both hands clasped behind her back.
I laughed and adjusted Shelly against my chest. “You were here yesterday.”
“That was work.”
“You held her.”
“That was also work.”
“You rocked her to sleep for forty minutes.”
Elena smiled without a hint of shame. “I am exceptionally dedicated.”
Thoren shook his head from the chair beside me while Elena came closer and leaned down to admire Shelly as if she had not spent half the previous afternoon doing exactly that.
Outside the open sitting-room door, Salas had set up what looked like an ordinary check-in station. A small table stood against th
