“It’s a sprain,” he argues, “I did too much too soon. Please, don’t blame yourself.”

He thinks about reaching for his hand again, but he wants Rama to know how much he means it: he’s not solely to blame for the state of Crozier’s body. It takes two, doesn’t it? So his hand finds Rama’s neck, holding him steady as he meets his gaze with something quietly stern in his own.

“I would have known if something was wrong in the moment, and I would have stopped.”