Xuan's sobs echoed in the meeting room of Lanthanor, which had been sealed so perfectly that there wasn't a single soul alive who could look in, and see what was going on.
Daneel was caught a bit off-guard, but he wasn't the naive boy who had given away his first kiss so easily in the library of the Goddess's Sanctum.
No, this entire ordeal, and everything that had happened since then had hardened and matured him, and hence, he knew what he was supposed to do the moment he saw the emotions in Xuan's eye.
He hugged her back, feeling her frail body in his arms, and as she let it all out, he became the firm rock which she could finally lean on, as she had been lost amidst tumultuous storms until now.
He knew the short version of what had happened to her, but seeing her in this state, he realized, right away, that there must be something, or even a lot, more.
