She nodded, curling her fingers around it, face inscrutable. He was right. Of course he was right. This was... a simple lapse in judgement. They made a mistake. Indulged in a fantasy that they couldn’t have.

His words made her clench her jaw. As much as we may want them to be real. He... She wasn’t the only one, then. She shouldn’t be surprised, not after the way he... kissed her. “Of course.” Her hand was white knuckled around the warming stone. “We have a duty to the Order. The Republic.”