She wasn't foolish enough to believe that Kell wouldn't pay for it. Calla had to have coin on the table and if Neria did not stay very long, then the truth was that all of her efforts would be for nothing. Kell was a king's son. He could give her the coin she needed. But she still wanted to give Calla something; she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she walked around this world without providing anything in return for her stay.

Calla took her hand and, not for the first time, Neria was surprised at how...easy it was to let her do this. She did not flinch, not from her. And even as she was tugged closer, she did not feel afraid. When Calla's glance turned to Kell, she knew she had assumed rightly. Slowly, she nodded, her gaze briefly on Kell's back. "Of course," she whispered. She squeezed Calla's hand for a moment and then straightened.

Gently, she called to Kell, as if she wasn't acutely aware how he was pretending to be distracted. "Do you need anything before we go?" she asked him, knowing she had a few boxes of her own to carry now.