"I am so... so incredibly sorry," Ji'an panted, waving a trembling hand toward the red-haired rogue who was standing a few feet away. "I just... I accidentally kidnapped you. That is a crime. I'm confessing to a crime."
Blue did not look winded.
He didn't even look mildly fatigued.
He stood in the dappled sunlight, his breathing perfectly steady, his dark leather robes unruffled.
He looked down at his own hand, the hand Ji'an had just been holding in a vice grip for the last two miles.
He slowly clenched and unclenched his fingers, a completely unreadable emotion swimming in the depths of his bottomless dark eyes.
"You didn't kidnap me," Blue murmured, his voice a smooth, low hum that vibrated pleasantly in the quiet clearing.
He lowered his hand, turning his gaze to her. "You merely accelerated our departure. I must admit, I was unprepared for the... theatricality of the capital's populace."
