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The question pulled her attention back to him.

Kesta thought of the H-PRIME designation Pell had whispered less than an hour earlier.

She had not yet told Dreven.

Not because she intended to hide it.

Because Pell deserved to be present when she did.

The distinction felt important enough that she held onto it.

“I already know they selected me deliberately.”

Dreven looked at the copper markings around her wrist, then back at her face. His expression hardened in a way that made Kesta suspect he was imagining all the people responsible and deciding which ones he would prefer to meet first.

His fingers tightened on the table again.

Kesta reached out without thinking and put her hand around his wrist.

The reaction was immediate.

He went completely still.

His skin was warm beneath her palm, hotter than human skin, and his pulse struck hard against her fingertips. The scales along his forearm tightened subtly as though every part of him had become aware of the contact at once.

Kesta became aware too.

Very aware.

She removed her hand before the moment could turn into something neither of them had intended.

“That was not permission to destroy my furniture.”

Dreven looked down at the place she had touched before lifting his gaze to her.

“Your furniture?”

“The infirmary’s. I have acquired professional jurisdiction.”

A slow smile changed his face.

The sight did inconvenient things to her breathing.

“I was unaware Sera had surrendered territory.”

“She hasn't.”

“Then perhaps you have claimed it without permission.”

Kesta stared at him.

The smile deepened.

“You enjoyed that far too much.”

“Immensely.”

Sera’s voice came from the opposite side of the curtain. “If you two have finished measuring territory, I need the sterile sealant.”