"You'd be surprised," Wren says, with a raised eyebrow. "A good song and a bit of gold flake goes a long way toward entrancing."

"I can't offer you true love," he says, "I think that's a thing that takes more than an hour and some nettles. But I am in your debt, and that bargain's not fair. I don't say things I don't mean. If there's a way I can help you, even in friendship, I owe you that much."