Herbalists' Cache What a find

He let out a breath, half-sigh, half-chuckle. He shrugged, unwilling to give her an answer one way or the other. This wasn't black and white, this wasn't simple, no matter how badly he wanted it to be. Tell her "yes" or "no"; either way, he'd be lying.

"I don't know, Pema," Shale murmured, eyes fixed on her face. She had a beautiful face, open and kind, with eyes calm as the morning sky, lit by the rising sun. Soothing, a balm to any tortured soul lost in them. And gods knew his soul was tortured. "It's not. . .it's not easy. Love. And I'm scared to jump into it again. Scared to have something to lose, again."

"Maybe you should just, I dunno, forget about me," he said, looking away in shame. "You don't deserve to be strung along."