"We're coming!" Ariadne called after Maul in a bright, perhaps slightly too cheerful voice.

But she dropped her tone to a murmur for the other two. "There's something wrong with my blood," she said. "It's been happening all month. Every time I touch someone, it hurts."

And Maul, she supposed, didn't need to know. It wasn't like the affliction was going to stop Ariadne from doing what needed to be done. If someone was falling, she would do everything in her power to catch them. That was just her way.

Still. From everything she'd learned about Maul and Savage, the last thing she needed to do was make her weakness apparent. She had a good sense of how those viewed as weak were treated on Dathomir.

"Come on," she said, resisting the urge to take Luke's hand. She nodded after Maul. "We'd better stay close together. Before he gets hurt."