Grim had risen before first light, preferring to avoid the crowds that would soon fill every thoroughfare with tournament excitement. The white robes he'd worn yesterday had been exchanged for a simpler dark tunic and trousers, a hood pulled low over his face. Anonymity served him better today than spectacle.
[You seem contemplative this morning,] the voice observed.
"Hard not to be," Grim replied aloud, knowing the empty streets afforded him privacy to speak freely. "Yesterday went exactly as planned, yet somehow I didn't expect to feel..."
[What? Satisfaction? Vindication?]
"Hollow," Grim admitted. "Seeing their faces when they realized who I was—it should have felt better."
[Revenge rarely satisfies as much as anticipated,] the voice said. [You spent twelve years imagining their shock, their fear. Reality seldom matches fantasy.]
Grim snorted. "When did you become so philosophical?"
[I've always been philosophical. You've just rarely been in a mood to listen.]
