Daemon laughed, letting his touch linger, smooth from her hair down across her cheek. "You would." And without it, he bit his tongue before adding. His thumb smoothed the soft skin beneath one vibrant blue eye, and the others curled around her chin, holding her still.

"A simple life," he replied honestly. "Freedom, honesty, gods willing a good woman and perhaps even children, one day. No lies, no treachery, no politics. Just...a family, I guess." A touch of maudlin caught him and he lowered his hand. "And to know that those beneath me are safe, and have the same. I might despise the nobility, but as one of them, at least I can do some good in the world."