Ted flopped onto the bed. Instead of a welcome soft embrace, it punched back.

He groaned and squirmed on his back, but the mattress—which didn’t deserve the name—refused to yield. Trust orcs to have beds as hard as their beer.

The fuzzy world wobbled around him as he tried to get comfortable, and the absence of noise pounded in his ears. “That orc booze is something else.”

Cara giggled and slammed the door behind her. “And you only had two.”

Slippery thoughts refused to be held long. Massaging his temples didn’t help, nor did every muscle in his body aching. “It felt more like four.”

“Pfft.” She waved away his complaint and began casting the Alarm spell in front of the door. Even swaying from rather more than two drinks, she still made it look easy. Beautiful, even.

Safe and secure at last, he leaned back in the stupid bed and watched. It was good to have her along. He needed someone to watch his back, even if she did love diving headfirst into trouble.

With the Alarm in place, she reached into her pack and pulled out the little nest. Ahh, yes, Nibbles. Her furry little nose poked out and sniffed the air. A moment later, she rushed forward and rubbed against Cara, demanding to be petted.

A beaming smile lit up Cara’s face, and she happily obeyed. “You didn’t like how loud it was, did you, darling?”

Squeak! Squeak! Nibbles gnawed at her owner’s ear. She wasn’t the only one who hadn’t liked the din. A rock concert would have been quieter.

“You and me both,” Ted said, his ears still ringing. “I’m not sure my hearing will ever be the same again.”

Cara stumbled forward another step. She cocked her head and stared at him with that adorable half smile, half frown she sometimes wore. “What do you mean?”

“Hearing damage.” He paused, pondering his new reality. “Is that a thing here, from too loud noises for too long?”

She shook her head, and that beaming smile lit right back up. “Nope, never heard of it. Shuffle over.”

That was one less thing to worry about, at least. That only left death, dismemberment, and the end of the world. “I thought you didn’t want a bed?”

She blinked and clutched her hands for a few moments. “Nibbles misses you.”

Nibbles squeaked, gesturing toward him with her tiny little nose. They both looked very cute and happy together.

A tingling warmth settled in Ted’s chest. How could he say no to that? He smiled and shuffled over, grateful that the “single” bed, being sized for an orc, was closer to King size.

Cara climbed onto the bed and Nibbles bounced over to Ted. Tiny little feet pattered across his chest and the little darling nuzzled against his chin, squeaking excitedly.

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He petted her—how could he not? “I missed you, you little rascal.”

Brimming with energy, Nibbles clambered up his neck, across his face, and down onto the overly hard pillow beyond. A moment later, tiny teeth gnawed at his earlobe.

“She really missed me, too, huh?”

“Yeah.” Cara snuggled in closer, resting her head upon his shoulder and relaxing into him with a contented sigh. “I’m glad we didn’t leave her behind.”

Muscles tightened throughout Ted and his heart raced. Even with the armor between them, her warmth pressed against his. “There was no we in that decision, Cara. It’s going to be dangerous.”

“I know, I know. I really had meant to find someone to look after her. I’m sorry.”

It was too late now. “Won’t she die at the first area of effect spell?”

“Not if I have her on me.” Cara rolled more onto her side and draped her arm over him. “I’m glad she’s here.”

Ted’s chest tightened even further. He breathed in deeply, drawing in more of her floral scent, and swallowed hard.

“Are you okay? Should I move?”

He blinked.

Was he okay?

Tensed up. Breathing fast. Heart pounding. He blinked again, a boulder sinking in his chest. Not just tense, coiled for fight or flight.

This wasn’t a trap. She wanted to be close. She was safe. He was safe.

It didn’t have to end, not yet.

He slowed his breathing and forced himself to nod. “It’s fine.” The words came out as a whisper.

“Okay.” Her smile returned, softer than before. “It’s strange. I’ve always wanted to go see the world, and now I am…” She trailed off and tugged on her bottom lip.

“Not what you imagined?”

She closed her eyes and swallowed. “I’ve never been so very, very alone.”

Alone? Ted’s heart skipped a beat. The tree-song. All her life, connected with everyone in the Forest. Until now. Until she’d left to help him. He wrapped his arm around her. “I’m sorry. I can’t even begin to imagine.”

“It’s building and building and I don’t know what to do and—” She buried her face against him and screamed.

Panic ignited. He bottled it up and saved it for later. She needed him now.

A lump swelled in his throat. What could he do?

He rolled to face her and stroked her back. “It’s okay, you’re okay, you’re safe.”

Breathing hard, she looked up, her eyes wet and pleading. “How do you handle it?”

He stared blankly. Handle it?

“So many emotions, stuck, nowhere for them to go?”

Quivers took over his chest. Shoving emotions far away and pretending he’d deal with them one day had worked out fine so far.

She pulled her hands into her chest, and they curled into fists. “How do I make it stop?”

How did other people do it? Besides not being broken. “By talking.” His gut twisted just thinking about it. Allegedly, it worked for some people. What else was there?

“Talk?” She grimaced like he’d suggested she eat shit. Except she’d probably have been happier about that.

“Yeah.” People were meant to, anyway. Not that he did.

She silently glowered up at him. What was that behind her eyes? Disgust? Desperation?

Probably both. Who wouldn’t feel that?

His gut twisted. A lot of people, probably. Normal, boring, non-crazy people who never got abducted into a game world and forced to… to survive.

Slowly, her eyes softened, until at last she spoke again, with quiet, terrifying words. “Can you go first?”

His every muscle clenched tight. No, she wasn’t safe. She was a whirlpool of insane ideas that would pull him in closer and closer and drown him. “I’ve never killed anyone before.”

It blurted out before he could shut it down.

The words hung in the air, the elephant finally addressed.

She blinked, nodded slowly, and rested her head on his chest. “Me neither.”

“I didn’t want to.” The words came out of their own accord. He could have stopped them, but…

“We had to.” Her voice wavered.

“We saved Gramok.”

She took his hand in hers and held it tight. “We did.”

Gramok. A selfless warrior condemned to death for trying to help. “He didn’t deserve to die.”

“No.” Cara clenched a little tighter. “And they were murderers.”

“Right.”