Lying on Riftan's chest always made Maxi feel as though they shared a soul. The gentle breathing above her head or the pounding heartbeat beneath her ear felt like her own. She sometimes had the lone, despairing thought she would not be able to live without him. Her heart burned with the desire to have him all to herself.
It was like a newborn chick blindly following the mother hen. Yet, the time to send him off was inexorably approaching.
"Stay inside the cabin tonight," Riftan said with a grim expression when he returned from his short trip up the deck to talk to the captain.
Maxi, who had been reading a book on the bed, responded with wide eyes.
Riftan went straight to the armor stand and donned the protective gear he had not worn in a while.
"I-Is there a problem?" said Maxi, alarmed.
"No. We are merely taking a precaution."
"A precaution… for what?"