Akamir lowered himself into the chair beside her, the wood creaking under his weight.
"You want to talk about that now?" he asked, one brow lifting.
Inara rested her chin on her hand. "Yes. Because if we don't, it will just hang between us like smoke."
He rubbed a hand across his face, half-laughing.
"We just learned the Aure kingdom is a front for bloodline harvesters, and you want to discuss feelings?"
"That's exactly why," she said quietly. "If we can't stand steady together, how do we stand against something like the Zagroths?"
The question landed heavier than he expected. He leaned back, exhaling through his nose.
"You think I'm going to run," he said finally.
"I think," Inara replied, eyes steady on his, "keeping secrets between us will only make things worse."
Akamir looked into her eyes but he didn't find any anger as he had expected.
All he could see was that he had hurt her more than she was showing.
