The pressure in his throat dropped to his stomach at that look on the other man's face, his fingers tingling as he they curled over his middle. He could say all he wanted about Rhys being not what he showed on the surface but Tristian was exactly that. He was shiny on the outside but not on the inside. The fear he hadn't felt since he'd been face to face with the Prince came and struck him, for a second, before it was all over and he was back to 'normal'.
The tension between them suddenly just vanished, snapping like it had never been. He almost didn't even register the little pat on his head as he was being spoken to again, words that sounded friendly. Maybe he was right - maybe he wouldn't survive out on his own. He'd survived so far because he'd been inside most of the time and when he hadn't been, he'd been looked out for. Was that just the truth? Or was it his insecurities?
"I'll be fine." He wasn't. That was obvious enough, but he managed to take a step back, only noticing now he had a small cut to the inside of his lip. He'd just have to wait for Amadeus to come over instead. Even with everything else, Tristian's words about why Henry embraced him would stick with him.