"Yeah," she says. "I knew what was coming, and I couldn't-- I thought I'd lost you." Her voice catches on the last word; she swallows the 'again' that wants to follow.

She hadn't. She can feel his heart beating, his skin living-warm, and the tension begins to seep away, drop by drop. If she were alone, she'd be up for much of the remainder of the night, distracting herself with a map or a book she'd borrowed, or wandering down to the Xin Market in search of a distraction. It's almost become a habit, if a less frequent one than it would have been in the weeks immediately following the final confrontation with Ammit's cult.