He remembered being under the water and seeing Xiri’s face, the fear there even as she was seconds from drowning. Would she always have a fraction of that fear when she looked at him? When they’d come ashore, she would have fallen on her blade rather than be taken prisoner. The same blade she’d nicked him with, right under his chin. He touched his finger there, to the spot that hadn’t even left a scar. His pulse was frantic at the memory, and now she wanted to unite them, their worlds, their families, their planets.
