"Only when I twist hard," Caleb said. "Breathing is fine unless the uniform catches against the marks."
Elara looked down at the tablet, then back at him. "When I touch near it, I need you to tell me exactly what changes. Not the clean answer. Not the answer you would give a medic because you want them to clear you faster. If it burns, tightens, pulls, reacts, anything, you tell me."
Caleb looked down at the purple ridges along his side. "You came prepared."
"I came annoyed," Elara said, setting the tablet on the counter beside the mirror. "Those are different things."
"With you, they usually end up in the same place."
A faint crease touched the corner of her mouth, then disappeared.
She removed her remaining glove and placed it beside the tablet. Her bare fingers hovered above the outer edge of the spiral without touching him yet.
Caleb's abdomen tightened.
Elara's eyes lifted to his face.
"That happened before I touched you."
"I know."
