"Yes," he assured, nodding. He did not say that they had had to rescue Yasha from herself again, later; that could wait and be settled later. No--suddenly, Caleb understood Essek's hesitation in giving him more than the most basic crumbs. Not because he was worried about the threads of these things. Instead, because there were so many things, and Molly deserved to digest each in turn.

"We got them back. We--" Here, Caleb did touch Molly's face. Brief, cupping that warm cheek that he hadn't seen in ages. That had been so terrifying in those last days in Eiselcross, transformed back to the gentle good humor he remembered. "I killed him. Lorenzo. I killed him."