"You're dirty," he rumbles.
"I am," I agree.
"You're hungry."
"A fraction."
"You are..." He struggles to find the word. "Sad?"
"No," I counter. "Not sad."
He tilts his heavy head, studying my features.
"You miss the light," he says.
A statement of fact.
"I miss the ease of it," I confess, leaning into his touch. "I miss the warmth. I miss the guaranteed meals. I miss a life where my heaviest burden was the decorative symmetry of a perimeter knot."
Kael flinches. He drops his hand, pulling his frame backward.
"But," I say, grabbing his wrist to anchor him in place. "I harbor zero desire for the Reef."
I pull him closer.
"I choose starving in the dark with you over feasting in the quiet without you."
Kael stares.
His broad chest hitches. A shuddering breath escapes his lips.
He collapses forward, resting his heavy forehead against mine.
"Vaelis," he whispers.
"I'm here."
"My sun."
"Your drift," I correct.
He laughs. A rusty, unused sound, yet real and bright.
"My drift," he agrees.
He pulls back, dropping his eyes to the map.
"South?" he asks.
"South," I confirm.
"Dangerous water," he notes.
"Good," I say.
He smiles.
"Good," he confirms.
