"Temper, temper," Cuthbert cautions, lazily, but there's nothing lazy about the hard, sharp look in his eyes as he watches the Knight. "Mind your manners. Susan's done nothing but try to help you, more than you realize. Alain, I don't suppose you could...?"

The sudden surge of hope that rushes through her dies as Alain shakes his head. "Not with him as he is, more's the pity. Walls are up. It'd be a different kind of fight, one that might cause more harm than good."

Susan takes a deep breath and squeezes Caspian's fingers as she looks up at him, her fog-gray gaze meeting his sea-colored one. "Don't let him hurt thee," she says, soft. "For his sake, and mine, and all who love thee."