When he finished signing, she’d leant against his side, tucked into his armpit as she’d done as a child, even though now she had to scrunch down to fit, and she’d pretended she was that girl again, and her father still existed in the flesh world, and nothing could hurt either of them, despite the duty he performed and the risks he took.

Though now the duty and the risks are mine.

‘It is a very good plan,’ Toxte signed and said at the same time, the movement bringing her back to her surroundings, small and cosy and filling with the particular, heady scent of the man who every day burrowed his way a little deeper into her heart.

She put her hand gently on Otek’s knee, nudging Ekka’s haunch out of the way as she did. The dog shifted in his lap and her rump slid onto the mat. They were all far too big for laps anyway, not that it stopped them trying.

‘We have built a cage, a strong but light cage,’ Kime was signing as Xessa’s eyes flicked from his hands to Otek’s face. ‘… a Drowned, and take it to the—’

Otek’s hand grabbed Xessa’s; she started and met his gaze – his present, entirely-in-the-flesh-world gaze. Her heart flooded with love and relief and she smiled, raised his hand and pressed her lips against it; then she held it to her cheek. It shook. ‘Capture?’ he said and she nodded. She suddenly didn’t want to think about it, talk about it, not while Otek was here with her.

Kime had taken his other hand and Otek looked between them, his wrinkled brow creased further by a deep scowl. And then he took his hands away from them both and pointed at Toxte. ‘Who is this?’ he signed.

‘Toxte is my duty partner,’ Xessa signed and caught a glimpse of his mouth drop open. Confusion flittered over his features. ‘And my friend,’ she added hurriedly. That didn’t seem to work either. ‘My …’

‘We are becoming intimate,’ Toxte signed and Xessa felt a blush creep up her neck. ‘I care for your daughter very much, honoured ejab,’ he said, looking at Kime as well.

She waited for more, but Otek was wandering again, the brightness of his eyes beginning to fade. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘None of you die.’ He was gone before they could even raise their hands to assure him they wouldn’t – whether or not that might be a lie.

Still, he’d seen Toxte. Known him and what they meant to each other, even if she had fumbled the admission so badly. That was something, a small precious pearl more valuable than any traded by the coastal villages.