“You stayed calm,” he said. “That matters.”
She looked down at her shaking hands. “I wasn’t calm.”
“You were,” he said softly. “Braver than you think.”
Her cheeks heated. She wasn’t used to praise, especially not from someone who seemed to see straight through her.
She found his gaze. “Thank you.”
His own held hers—steady, unguarded for a heartbeat too long. Then he looked away, and said, “Finish your meal. We’ll return to your quarters soon.”
But she wasn’t thinking about food anymore. She was dreaming about the way he’d saidyou’re safe.
The tension in the diner eased as the lights steadied, but the air still felt charged, like the ship itself was holding its breath. Aelanna tried to focus on her food, but her gaze kept drifting to Nayli and Blayze across the table.
Nayli was fussing again.
She didn’t mean to. It was simply who she was — attentive, always noticing the small things others missed. And Blayze… Blayze responded to her like a plant leaning instinctively toward sunlight.
Aelanna hid her smile behind her cup. She wasn’t used to reading people so easily, but even she could see it: Nayli’s instinct to care, and Blayze’s instinct to melt under it, fit togetherlike two pieces of a puzzle neither of them realised they were holding.
Nayli reached for the drink Blayze had brought her earlier — the one he’d chosen with such earnest uncertainty. She took a sip, then brightened.
“Oh! This one’s lovely.”
Blayze lit up. “Really?”
“Yes,” she said. “Thank you for picking it.”
He looked like she’d handed him a medal. “I can bring you more. Or different ones. Or—”
“Blayze,” she said lightly, placing a hand on his forearm. “This is perfect.”
He went still again, eyes dropping to her hand as if it were the most precious thing in the galaxy.
Aelanna felt Darren shift beside her, and she glanced up to find him watching the exchange too; thoughtful, assessing, maybe even a little amused.
“They suit each other,” Aelanna murmured.
Darren nodded once. “They do.”
His voice was low and seductive. Inwardly, she gave herself a shake; she really shouldn’t be thinking like this.
Across the table, Nayli finally withdrew her hand, and Blayze exhaled like he’d been holding that breath for minutes.
Kora leaned back, smirking. “Well. That was adorable.”
Lero muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like agreement.
Aelanna looked at Nayli—radiant, kind, utterly unaware of the effect she had—and then at Blayze, who was staring at his drink with the dazed reverence of someone who’d just glimpsed the divine.
Yes. They suited each other.
The diner gradually returned to its normal rhythm. When Darren rose, she followed unaware, her body attuned to his movements.
“We’ll head back,” he rumbled. “You should sleep.”
Kora and Nayli were still talking with Lero and Blayze, but Aelanna slipped away with Darren, grateful for the quieter corridor beyond the diner doors. The hum of the engines was steady now, comforting, almost like a heartbeat.
