[ Her breath catches; he's meeting her tit for tat in confessing. She'd always imagined Kaz would insist he's walking fine without her. Nothing's changed. There's no time to account for the ways Ketterdam has changed with her gone.

She appreciates it, even though she won't say as much. Pointing out Kaz's moments of honesty is asking for him to clam right up again. ]

I'm horrible at catching fish. [ She chuckles. ] Like really, really horrible. Specht says I want to save them, too, even though they'd be much better as food. I think you would've said something like that.

[ That's one of the things she's wanted to tell him. Mundane things like that. There'd been a time in Ketterdam when it'd been easy for them to talk about the mundane like it was business. It was easier to hide behind the fact that business brought them together. They still have that in common, but it's different now. Their missions intersect, but instead of going straight ahead together, he goes left while she goes right.

She audibly inhales and pauses. ]

It's easier to catch fish than slavers. Sometimes we find out about more than one, and I feel so guilty having to pick which one we go after while the rest get further away.

[ If only she could control the sea. ]