Zale pulled himself further onto the platform, his powerful tail still trailing in the water but his upper body now fully present. This close, Alex could see the fine scales that dusted his shoulders, the way his gills fluttered with each breath.
He was quiet for a long moment, his aqua eyes searching Alex's face.
"It doesn't matter to me either," he said simply. "I told you I was attracted to your strength. Your intelligence. The way you prioritize the lives you're carrying over everything else. None of that changes because of what you've just told me."
He reached out slowly, giving Alex plenty of time to pull back, and placed his hand over Alex's where it rested on his belly.
"If anything," Zale continued softly, "it makes you more remarkable. You're carrying six lives in a body that shouldn't be able to. You're surviving things that would kill most people. And you're doing it with grace."
Alex felt something loosen in his chest—relief he hadn't realized he was holding.
