"For the ones you rescued," Tuo counters gently, "it is more than enough. It is everything."

He can feel Dain's trembling where their hands touch; of course he would be terrified. Has he ever spoken these words aloud to anyone else in all the time he's lived this double life as both Shepherd and devotee to the Night? That's an assumption, of course; Tuo doesn't know whether Dain still believes, and won't ask where his friend's devotions lie.

He brings his other hand to cradle Dain's between his palms, smoothing a thumb across the ridges of his knuckles, and offers his friend's words back to him. "You're safe here," he promises him quietly. There are so few promises he can make, knowing what he knows of his own life and what lies ahead of him, but, nevertheless--"Right here, right now. You are safe with me, Anja."