Page 78 of Alien Burn

“I've been shown mirrors.”

“Then don't make me explain it.”

“I was rather hoping you would.”

“Good night, Dhomhes.”

“Wait.”

She stayed, smiling now. The burn spread through his chest. He shifted in the chair, then planted both feet beneath the desk. Getting up would do no good; she was still on a screen.

“I wish I were there,” he said.

The smile faded, but she didn't look away.

“So do I.”

He pictured her beside him, the weight of her hand in his. His breath roughened. He could almost feel her leaning close, lifting her face toward his. The empty chair across the room was suddenly intolerable.

She glanced toward her door. He saw the movement and the way she tried to disguise it afterward.

“How are things there?” he asked.

“Quiet.”

“With Roemary?”

A pause.

“She didn't enjoy the reception.”

“I gathered that.”

“She's feeling better about it now.”

The words were light. Her face wasn't.

“What changed?”

Sereya picked at the edge of the blanket. “She thinks you might tell me things. About what's happening.”

He kept his expression still.

“And she wants you to pass them on.”

“Yes.” Sereya looked at him directly. “I thought you should know.”

“Thank you.”

“I didn't call to ask you anything for her.”

“I know.”

Did he? The question came automatically, mean with fatigue. He had spent the night asking who had access to whom, who might have been put beside someone for a purpose. He could turn even this into an interrogation if he allowed himself.

But Sereya had just told him something that would make such an interrogation harder to conceal. She had warned him when silence would have been easier.

He would remember that too.