"Please," Percy moved his wine glass toward Vex, then leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was a rare act of affection, but this wasn't precisely public.

"This is going well." It wasn't like last year, where euphoria and exhaustion had given a newly freed city hope, but it was in its own way more joy than he'd felt in ages. Mostly due to the half-elf at his side.