"That marriage has been promised for years," she tells him quietly, the urge to tip her head against his hand so strong she has to tighten most of the muscles in her body in order to not give in to it. "To break it would be a disaster that I cannot imagine. My family would be incredibly disappointed in me and his —" She inhales. "They're counting on the match to strengthen their name." A pause. "I've never met him."

Political only.

A moment later, she has to satiate her curiosity and reaches out herself, fingertips brushing over the hair on his face. Her smile returns. "It's just as soft as —" when our minds were linked, she thinks, but does not say, before moving her hand away from his face. She'd just needed to know.