Ty sat on the bathhouse tile with water running out of his sleeves.
His ribs hurt when he breathed. His shoulder still carried the boundary burn from Threxian's room. The cut inside his cheek had started to swell, and every time he swallowed, he tasted the place where his teeth had gone through skin.
Milo stood over him with both hands in his pockets. "Keep glaring if it helps you breathe better."
Ty wiped water from his eyes and pushed his back against the wall. "Your bedside manner makes drowning look professional by comparison."
"Drowning had a head start and still lost."
"That joke needs work after you save someone."
Milo leaned down enough for Ty to smell old smoke on his collar. "I pulled you out because Rui-Chai ordered it, and because leaving you there would make the pools harder to clean."
