"Well, then," Vette said, standing and dusting some sand from her clothes, "lead on!"

People were absolutely staring at them, which she noticed more now that she had left the cover of her parasol, but having Sidon there was emboldening, somehow. Not just because he was massive and could probably bite anyone who tried something funny in two. Just... the confidence, the fact that he didn't seem to worry about that sort of thing.

She was a little in awe of that, honestly. She didn't know how he did it.