Misae sucked in a breath and held it, going stock still at his words. But her heart beat faster in her tightening chest, her stomach giving a queasy roll at the words slaughtered. Erased. His entire people.
She felt suddenly sick, his words tugging up memories she had long since buried. That one morning, all those years ago, when her entire world had gone red and bloody.
And gods and starlight, didn't she know it. The shame he spoke of, the guilt of living when others didn't. She hadn't chosen to run; she had been spared because she was young and a woman. The elderly, the disabled, most men and children...they had not been so lucky. There were survivors here and there, but their entire culture?
Erased.
She swallowed back her own pain, shaking away the memories, and hugged him a little tighter. "It wasn't your fault."