Chapter 39 #4
“Halos is going to love you.”
“He’ll recover.” There was no flirtation in the answer today. He shifted the reports under one arm. “The alternate manifestations matter, but not to everyone for the same reason. Halos is interested in the Shadow construct and the ward failure. The Council is going to focus on the crowned one.”
“And you?”
Damon took a second before answering. “I’m interested in why the Crucible showed you things you claim never to have seen.” That was more honest than I expected. He lowered his voice. “And the recognition architecture matters. Don’t let Halos bury it under questions about your control.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“I know.” His attention moved past me. Kieran had remained beside the ward table. Damon watched him briefly, then returned to me. Something about the pause made me uncomfortable. Before I could ask, Damon opened the doors.
Dax was waiting near the far arch. Neseryn stood several paces from him. Their argument was quiet enough that I caught only the middle of it as I approached.
“You didn’t have to make her sound like a disaster waiting to happen,” Dax said.
Neseryn folded her arms. “I answered the questions I was asked. You want me to tell Halos she’s controlled because you don’t like the alternative? She isn’t. She’s improving. She’s also reckless enough to keep fighting after her body stops cooperating.”
“You knew how he’d use that.”
“He would have used a lie harder.”
Dax stared at her. “I like you,” he said, irritated enough that the admission sounded more like an accusation. “I’m starting to think that says something terrible about my judgment.”
Neseryn’s mouth tightened. “That sounds like your problem.”
“It is.” She moved to leave. Dax caught her wrist. Neseryn reacted before his fingers had fully closed.
His back hit the wall hard enough to shake dust from the old mortar.
Her forearm pressed into his throat, and a knife appeared beneath his ribs, angled upward where a short thrust would do serious damage.
Dax went completely still.
There was nothing flirtatious in her face. “Do not grab me.”
He released her immediately. “All right.” She stepped back. Dax rubbed his throat, anger replacing whatever embarrassment might have followed. “Whatever happened to you doesn’t mean everyone who reaches for you is trying to hurt you.”
Neseryn froze. Only for a heartbeat. It was enough. Her face closed before I could understand what I had seen. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“No,” Dax said. “Because you make damn sure nobody gets close enough to.” She sheathed the blade. Then she saw me and whatever had existed between them disappeared. Neseryn walked past without acknowledging me.
Dax waited until she was gone before coming over, one hand still at his throat. “You look awful.”
“I’m having a wonderful morning.”
“How bad was it?”
“She told Halos I’m reckless, under trained, unstable under pressure, and too stubborn to stop fighting before I damage myself.” He seemed to consider responding. I pointed at him. “Don’t.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“You were.”
He let out a breath and looked toward the corridor where Neseryn had gone. Then the humor left him. “She didn’t tell them.”
“No.”
“She could have.”
“I know that too.” Dax leaned against the wall, then winced when the back of his head touched the stone where Neseryn had slammed him.
“She spent half the review giving Halos enough truth to make you sound dangerous and refused to give him the one truth that could actually destroy you.” That was the part I could not make fit.
The hearing had handed Neseryn every opportunity.
Halos had questioned the Shadow construct directly.
He had asked whether she sensed another affinity in Court Three.
She had protected the secret both times without once lying for me.
Truth withheld is not always truth denied.
I clenched my jaw. The Codex could go to hell. Behind us, the chamber doors opened. Kieran emerged with a ward-master, his attention finding me too quickly. Damon saw it. Kieran saw Damon see it.
Then all three carried on as though nothing had happened.
My stomach tightened. Kieran passed without speaking, questioning the ward-master about the Crucible readings with enough detachment that anyone watching would have believed I was just another difficult candidate whose magic he’d been asked to evaluate.
I understood why. That didn’t make it pleasant.
Dax followed my attention but, for once, didn’t joke.
Halos was deciding whether my power made me too dangerous for the Sanctum.
The Council wanted to know why the Crucible had crowned me.
Everyone had seen me wield Shadow, even if no one could prove it belonged to me.
Damon was watching Kieran. Neseryn knew enough to ruin me, yet kept stopping one sentence short of doing it.
I left the administrative wing with more people watching me than when I entered.
I still couldn’t tell which of them frightened me most.