Duke stayed braced. Nathan didn't look like he was bleeding anywhere, but it wasn't as though Nathan would even know it himself if he was.

That was almost . . . reasonable. Maybe the trouble hunt had gone badly, and Nathan needed a friend?

"Feels good," he said cautiously. He wanted to grab Nathan by the arms and force him to sit. He wanted to fix him, so he stayed rooted where he was. Waiting to see what happened next.