(Winter's POV)
Winter walked back to her quarters with Kat following, the silence between them comfortable but heavy with everything unsaid. Once inside, Kat went straight to the bed and sat down, her movements sharp with the agitation she was trying to control.
"I wasn't counting on him to be so...open about it, Winter," Kat said, her voice carrying the particular tone of someone who had witnessed something unprecedented. "Zulan doesn't do open. He doesn't do vulnerable. He doesn't declare his intentions in front of witnesses who could use it against him."
Winter went to a chair and sat down, her body folding into the familiar posture of someone processing information that exceeded their capacity. "That was unexpected," she said, her voice soft, her eyes holding a slight daze that spok
