Kime tapped her knee. ‘“Becoming” intimate?’ he asked with a grin that made her blush come back. ‘Then why are you here with two old men? Go on, off with you.’ He shooed them away with a smile and Xessa thought she might burst into flame from the heat of her embarrassment, but Toxte seemed more than willing to do as they were told.

He rose to his feet with a fluid grace that nearly stole her breath, and then held his hand out to help her up. He grinned and signed something to Kime and Otek she didn’t see, then whistled for the dogs and dragged her through the curtain and out into the evening. He turned abruptly so that she collided with him and wrapped both arms around her and kissed her thoroughly until she was breathless for real.

Toxte let her go long enough to sign. ‘What does my duty partner and my friend want to do now?’ he teased and Xessa bit her lip. The thought of taking Kime’s advice was both embarrassing and deeply appealing. Maybe he realised that, because he signed ‘Drink?’ and she accepted gratefully. Hand in hand, their dogs ranging ahead and behind, they wandered down through the city to the entertainment district.

Despite wanting it to chase away the anxiety, the beer was too sweet and Xessa didn’t dare risk the hangover that came with honeypot. Instead, they strolled again as night fell and the late markets lit up with braziers and candles. There were more people than usual on the streets; the whole city knew what the ejab were going to attempt the following morning and more and more people came to offer blessings and prayers for her when they saw her pass. Eventually, Toxte read the growing panic in her eyes and led her firmly and quickly back to her home.

It was one of four houses in a square around a communal garden and firepit, and though the pit was red with embers, no one sat in its meagre light. Xessa breathed a soft sigh of relief and ducked under the curtain and in. She lit a couple of candles and then Toxte’s arms wrapped around her waist from behind and he kissed her neck. She leant into it and then he was turning her to face him.

‘Are you scared?’ he signed and it was like dousing the heat in her blood with water.

Xessa hitched in a breath, not wanting to think about this now, of all times, but the words smashed the wall she’d built to hold back her emotions. Her vision narrowed with a suddenness that frightened her and her breathing was rough as bright, jagged panic carved through her without reason or warning. She thrashed against it, but still its waters closed over her head.