"You have less HP."
"That's not —" She stopped. Took a breath. Her fingers flexed under his palm, and he felt each one move individually against his skin. "That's not why you did it."
Liam considered this. He had done it because she was closer to the Naga's attack trajectory, and he had higher defense and more total health, which made him the logical choice to absorb the initial strike. That was why he'd done it. Tactically obvious.
But she was looking at him like the answer mattered in a way that went beyond tactics, and he didn't understand the question she was actually asking.
"You were in the way," he said.
Wrong answer. He knew it immediately from the way her ears snapped flat, and her jaw tightened, and she yanked her hand out from under his. She sat back on her heels, mouth pressed into a thin line, and for a second, the chamber felt colder.
"Great," she said. "Thanks. Glad I was in the way."
"That came out wrong."
"Did it?"
