As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t want Hrathen’s affection for Sarene to ever be overt in the book. He’s not a man of passions, and I think he would be very good at keeping his interest unacknowledged, even in his own thoughts. He has ‘learned to ignore’ the passions of the flesh. We only get a few small clues as to his attraction to Sarene, and this chapter is probably has the most of those.
Still, hidden though they are, I wanted it to be obvious that Hrathen is a man, and does have masculine desires. He’s found a woman whom he considers his equal—the fact that she is of a heretic religion would only make her more appealing, I think. Hrathen is attracted to challenges, and Sarene is nothing if not challenging.
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