Page 80 (1/2)

He grinned

“Anyway,” she continued “Above all that, the sinificant”

“Such as?”

“Honor Respect for their families, their friends and their country Even open-mindedness”

“Good qualities to possess”

“Yes And despite all their differences, they become the best of friends Their families even bond to an extent But the tensions increase as the regional issues escalate The war eventually breaks out and they’re pitted against one another—so too are their faes, sost the turainst all odds”

She gave this so run, they’re devoted to their friendship Coh the horror of war—and the disjointed politics that tore apart an entire nation and many families”

He set his glass aside “Nearly eight hundred thousand soldiers died and countless civilians”

“That’s huge,” she said Not as high in casualties as the dee-wise, given the population in the late 1800s, there had to be a close correlation to the death tolls

“The war didn’t just co opinions on slavery,” Darien added, “but also because the North felt it necessary to advocate for the Union—to keep the states intact, as instituted by the Declaration of Independence Secession by the South was considered treason against the country”

“In the end,” she reminded him, “relations between the North and South were restored”

Darien’s finger and thuht both of theant He swiveled the crystal flute, then asked, “Are you hinting we should engage in our own Reconstruction Era?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted “I think an honest evaluation of the state of affairs is in order first After all, when the initial demon-human war of 2016 broke out, the world was already in a state of unrest, and the economy had suffered horrifically People suffered,” she amended “Lisette said the last several years before the war erupted, things were dire with the real estate, financial and job markets Apparently, there was a lot of despair”

He leaned forward and gazed at her “You want coround across the board?”

“Is that asking so much?”