"You fought a deity while drunk and nearly died," Nora pointed out.
"Your judgment is questionable at best."
"Fair point," Jolthar conceded.
Milan was smiling now, the earlier tension and embarrassment completely gone.
"Thank you. Both of you. You have no idea how much it means to finally share this with people who understand. People who..."
He trailed off, emotion evident in his voice.
"People who know what it's like to die once and wake up somewhere impossible?"
Jolthar finished. "Yeah, we get it."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, three people from another world, bound by shared experience and now shared purpose.
Finally, Nora spoke up.
"We should get back before Mother sends a search party. And Prince Milan—" she looked at him directly "—try not to turn into a blushing mess again when we return to the table. It's distracting."
Milan's face immediately flushed.
"I wasn't—that is, I didn't—"
"See?" Nora said to Jolthar.
"He's doing it again."
