"Just that I missed seeing the stars," Sydney said quietly, stepping back to get closer to him. Her eyes closed and she reveled in the warmth of his chest against her back, his arms around her in a semi-cocoon. "And trying not to be afraid that they'll send me back to the Alchemists."

She said "they" rather than "Lissa" because while she knew the Queen, and she was good friends with Adrian, Lissa's advisors would be telling her to do just that, marriage or no marriage.