"You weren't the only one looking for, as you said, a bit of normalcy in the chaos," Luthene said. "Plenty of men were. They proposed to their sweethearts, or got married outright. I… Well, I wasn't about to propose, but I had a similar sort of idea. I did always plan to ask you to join me in the war, but I had intended to lead with… something else." The colour had returned to Luthene's cheeks by this point, and now she was turning red again. "But of course I didn't say anything, as you know, and I carried that around all through the war. It was my unfinished business, so to speak." She lowered her voice. "And even though we were fighting against each other during the war, I never had it in me to kill you."

As Galin continued, Luthene reflected on his plan when she joined the company. How he had kissed her and wished her luck before she went against Domnall, then afterwards told her that he hasn't planned on doing that, but he'd have regretted not taking the opportunity when it was there. Suddenly it all made sense. "It was never an act for you, was it?" Luthene felt so foolish for not having seen it before. Instead, she focused too much on trying to put on a show for the men and not get too caught up in her own feelings, the same ones Galin had been looking for.

This time, when Galin kissed her, she was ready, and she returned it like she had wanted to before but never really could. Before, she had been caught off guard, or she was trying to be someone she wasn't. This time she could be just Luthene, and she wasn't trying to guard herself or hide her feelings anymore. It was real.

"I suppose there might be some pretending still," Luthene added after a long pause. She had gone back to leaning against Galin, relaxed being close to him like she never was before. His arm around her was a comfort now, instead of a weight. The silence, too, didn't seem so awkward. "The men think that I, that Alyson… does more than just sleep in your bed." She flushed again and wondered if Galin could see it. "I'm not like that. It will be a bit… slower with me, in that regard. But…" Luthene raised her head again, her face only inches from his. "You can kiss me as much as you'd like." She leaned in and pressed her mouth to his, and did not turn away this time. 

All the while, Luthene found the voice in the back of her mind, the one who had been so loud when she had the fever, the one that had motivated her to reach for m during dinner, was finally quiet. It was as if she had been waiting for this moment, and now that it had happened, now that Luthene and Galin had said why they had wanted to say for so long, she was satisfied. For the time being.