The whole of her is haloed now in the light. It comes in through the thin fabric, outlining the shape of her body beneath it. She might be thinking beyond the moment, ages in some dark future, but Darras is here and now and there is nothing that would make him leave this moment. His skin buzzes where her fingers are, and the feeling spreads all through him. He wants very much to reach for her. He resists the urge, unwilling to do anything that might break that contact or change the sight of her poised above him, just like that. Anything might ruin the moment.

"Funny enough," he says, deliberately casual, "many of them start very much like this. The worst ones end like this."