Niko had grown up with his eyes open to war and cruelty. He’d stepped away from everything he’d known to find an even more dark and tangled wilderness beyond, and his return was an unflinching choice, made without the sentimentality of love or honor. Shae thought, He is more like Ayt Mada than any of us. At least Niko has us. People who loved him, who reminded him to be human.
