"Shai-Hulud," Arha murmured simply, cradling Sheeana in her arms. This world of thiers was a cruel one at best, leaving them with little to stand upon--and less, now, with the Leto worm's dissolution. There was nothing right to say here, nothing that would ease the suffering. It was not an ailment to be cured, though she had wished she had gotten to the worm earlier (she was not sure it would have mattered, not even she could heal a whole worm from such a thing without killing herself).

"Had I been able, I would have done more," she said.