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“It is.” I looked at him. “Do not look pleased.”

“I am not.”

“That one was almost a smile.”

“It was not.”

There it was again. That almost-normal rhythm between us. Too easy.

I broke eye contact first.

“Sera’n was looking into this before I found it.”

“Yes.”

“I think he knew enough to be scared.”

“Likely.”

“And whatever he knew got him removed.”

“Possibly.”

I groaned. “Do you have any words that are not possibly, likely, or unknown?”

“Yes.”

“Name one.”

“No.”

I stared at him. Then laughed despite myself. The sound felt strange in my chest. Not because it wasn’t real. Because it was.

I hadn’t expected to laugh again this soon. Certainly not because of him.

Veyr’s gaze stayed on me for a second too long. Then he looked away.

I noticed. Of course I noticed. I was beginning to notice too much about him. That was dangerous for reasons I wasn’t interested in examining.

He pushed the opened meal across the table.

I glanced down. “What?”

“You have not eaten.”

I looked back at him. “That one’s yours.”

“I can open another.”

“You already opened that one.”

“Yes.”

“So eat it.”

He held my gaze. “You have not.”

I hated how much that sounded like concern when he delivered it as though he were reporting a malfunction.