"The honey butter is safe for the gu if you want to give them a treat," he says, even as he flips the cover over and presents it to Shen Wei, letting him see that it wasn't The Romance but The Five Kingdoms, a much more serious historical myth instead. Little bubbles of lighter blues and pinks had appeared like glitter in his aura. "Gege, I would never give her that fir a first read. The metaphors alone are far more complex for anyone learning our tongue."

Placing the book down, he picks up his own cup and inhales a little of the steam - a mellow tea, one that brought to mind of sunshine and wood smoke. "The Regent mostly. He had so much control over the whole system... I swear he actually was hooked into the Throne the way he seemed to know everything."