But all Lex did was give Nyssa's arm a squeeze, and then she stood.
“Very well, Commander," she said. "I'll see you on the beach for training at dawn, Nyssa."
Lex stepped inside, the door shut with a click behind her. Nyssa sank back into the chair and hugged her knees.
"Here to tell me everything is fine about what happened tonight?" she said, her voice barely audible.
"No," he said as he sat down at her side. "Just thought you could use a break from having to explain yourself to your sister's Second."
"It's fine," Nyssa said. "She's just looking out for me. Fulfilling her promise."
Nadir sank back onto the chair, picking a flower from the vase of those on the porch that he'd brought home earlier, and he began to toy with it between his fingers. "Fulfilling her promise..." His voice trailed, and he threw the flower stem on the ground. "Another person telling you you are their duty instead of standing by you because you're you."
Nyssa gawked at him.
Nadir caught her stare, and his eyes squinted at her. "What?" he asked.
"You... Did you hear us talking earlier?" she asked, remembering the conversation.
"When?"
There was genuine surprise in his features, and she realized he knew nothing about the conversation she was talking about.
"I... Never mind." Her hands pushed over her face again, and she leaned her head against the wall. "I'm sorry I couldn't reach the serpent."
"But you did reach it," he said. "Maybe not talking to it, but what you did under that water— whatever it was— that serpent was going to drag you into the depths and eat you. You stopped it. Why are you considering this a failure?"
"Because I couldn't do what you needed me to do. The only thing I accomplished was saving myself."
"Ensuring your own survival is not something you should be ashamed over."
"But I was supposed to be helping you and your people," she argued. "And I didn't."
Nadir sighed and picked the last petals off the flower. "You know, I am curious as to why you volunteered if you knew you couldn't speak to it."
"I thought I could at least try," Nyssa said softly. "Especially going under the water, away from the Noctuans. I hated the thought of seeing that disappointment on Lex's face... And yours... No one has ever depended on me to do something on my own. I thought it was the first step in proving my worth to your people." Her jaw tightened with the words, and she cursed herself. "All I did was embarrass myself and bring more doubt into your people's minds. How are they ever going to trust me to do what you need me to do if I cannot even do what should be easy?"
"I trust you."
The three words shouldn't have meant as much as they did, but they did.
Oh, they did.
She nearly kissed him right then.
But—
"But your people do not," she managed. "I do not want them to begin to question you because they disagree or because they see you trusting me as some blind affection towards me."
"That's not why I trust you," he argued.
"They don't know that."
Nadir considered her a moment. "Okay, get up," he said, rising to his own feet. "Come on." He held out his hands to her, and she eyed him.
"Where are we going?"
"You're going to kick my ass," he informed her.
