"Because of you?" He shakes his head in disbelief. "Some girl in a tower? Ridiculous."

If he had planned on continuing to berate her, the appeal to his expertise stokes the flames of his ego and instead, he takes a seat on the fountain, lifting away a length of hair, brow arched.

"You want to know how to make it in the world? It's simple." He rubs the fresh scar on his cheek as he rattles off his best pieces of misbegotten advice: "Be careful who you trust. Keep your eye out for witches. Never apologize. Always get in the first attack."