There was a great deal to think about in the silence, and Hadama did not make another move to break it once he had answered Maea's questions as best he could. His gaze rose to rest on the wall above her head while she worked through her reactions to his words. A picture hung there, a painting of the Docks from before the War; before floating islands and the fracturing of the coast. Things had not been any simpler then for Caido, but they had been for him. Before a crown, and a region, and the sweet burn of starlight in his bones.
He returned his gaze to her as she spoke, and he tilted his head in acknowledgment of her first statement. "Yes," he said simply. But his brevity had caused a misunderstanding that he would have let stand with most others. Not now, however. Not with Maea, who had earned a full disclosure from the Tidebreaker. His voice, deep and quiet, did not extend beyond the alcove, granting them at least some privacy as the others in the bar went about their business. "The decision to stand with you... was unwise." He lifted his glass but did not drink from it for the moment. "It was emotional, not rational." He drew a breath in deeply through his nose and let it out slowly, watching her above the rim of his glass. "But the decision to ask you to leave that room was not for your protection. Though it was a side effect I do not regret."
He returned his gaze to her as she spoke, and he tilted his head in acknowledgment of her first statement. "Yes," he said simply. But his brevity had caused a misunderstanding that he would have let stand with most others. Not now, however. Not with Maea, who had earned a full disclosure from the Tidebreaker. His voice, deep and quiet, did not extend beyond the alcove, granting them at least some privacy as the others in the bar went about their business. "The decision to stand with you... was unwise." He lifted his glass but did not drink from it for the moment. "It was emotional, not rational." He drew a breath in deeply through his nose and let it out slowly, watching her above the rim of his glass. "But the decision to ask you to leave that room was not for your protection. Though it was a side effect I do not regret."
