[ Byerly's still sleep-muddled and dozy. So his first act is to lift his hand and caress Bastien's cheek, seeking out proof that he's truly there and solid and not, himself, a dream. His thumb runs over his cheekbone, his mustache, the corner of his lip. All there. All real. If the Maker is good and true, never to be away from him again.
(The Maker, Byerly knows, is not good or true. This won't be the last time he suffers this fear. He knows that.) ]
What was I doing?
[ He uses his fingertips to tug very lightly on one of the longer hairs on Bastien's chin. ]
84 at least
[ Byerly's still sleep-muddled and dozy. So his first act is to lift his hand and caress Bastien's cheek, seeking out proof that he's truly there and solid and not, himself, a dream. His thumb runs over his cheekbone, his mustache, the corner of his lip. All there. All real. If the Maker is good and true, never to be away from him again.
(The Maker, Byerly knows, is not good or true. This won't be the last time he suffers this fear. He knows that.) ]
What was I doing?
[ He uses his fingertips to tug very lightly on one of the longer hairs on Bastien's chin. ]
In the dream.