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"Heh. You have a talent for understatement, Hector." She moved away from the mirror and disappeared deeper into the bathroom. "But the Sandlords are our allies--and valuable ones, at that. If they have come to us in their hour of need, we should not turn them away."

Hector could only agree.

And yet, it did feel a little strange, hearing all this from her. While the Sandlords were indeed allies, there was the minor issue of Helen's own relationship with them.

It wasn't even a year ago when Helen had been run out of Sescoria by a handful of Abolish terrorists. Certainly, if she had been able to acquire the Sandlords' aid at that critical time, they would have been able to make quick work of Abolish--and saved everyone a lot of trouble in the process.

But obviously, that hadn't happened.

Atreya's alliance with the Sandlords stemmed from a political marriage between Helen's brother, Prince Meriwether, and Nasira Saqqaf. And while Prince Meriwether had turned against the conspirators at the end, he had still been a part of the inner circle that had ousted her in the first place.

So ultimately, in the Queen's own hour of need, she could not go to the Sandlords for help. Yet here she now was, telling him that they needed to behave like good allies.

She wasn't wrong, of course, but Hector couldn't help sensing a level of awkwardness beneath this whole situation. He had to wonder if she harbored any feelings of resentment toward them.

Probably not, he figured. She was the Queen. She had to be dignified and stuff. Above that kind of thing.

...Right?

"You're not concerned about Atreya getting dragged into the war by helping them?" asked Hector.

"Of course I am concerned about that," said the Queen. "But I am also concerned about the war coming to our doorstep while we have few strong allies who are willing and able to support us."