I reach out, making to touch his bandage, or hair, or something. But my hand ends up on his cheek, fingertips vaguely tracing the line of his jaw.

Protective.

Also respectful.

"You created this driver so that we could be protected within Helheim, so that we could safely harness the power of the lock seeds," I swallow hard, but hide it with a turn of my head and a cough into my free hand.

"Calll me, if ever something like this occurs again."