None of them blamed him for it. He wasn’t sure he deserved their kindness, but it wasn’t about what he deserved. It was about who they were. The man beside him and the mask of strength he wore to hide that kindness because it was treated as a weakness where he was from and the weak had to die.

“I love you so much,” Malcolm said in all seriousness. “Whatever happens, I need you to know that. To remember that. Whatever they do to us.”