The smile was still there, the corner-of-the-mouth smile that was not a soldier's and not a stranger's, and that took her back six years to a boy who had made faces at her just to make her laugh.
It was the same mouth.
"That's Asira," she said, nodding toward the bench across the way. "I've been trying to get to know her like you asked. She came over just now to draw my portrait, but my son reassigned her to drawing his friend."
"Pol."
"You know him?"
"No, but I've been standing here for a while before you felt me. I heard Tomek introduce his friend to Asira."
She was not sure how she felt about that. It was one thing to be part of his secret bubble where other people couldn't see them, and it was another thing to be outside his bubble and be watched by him without knowing that he was there.
It felt intrusive.
"Don't do that."
"Don't do what?" He joined her on the bench.
"Don't watch without letting me know that you are doing it."
He tilted his head. "But it's so much fun watching you when you are unaware of being watched. You make all those funny faces that broadcast whatever you're thinking."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you dare peek into my head and read my thoughts."
He put his hand over his chest. "I promise not to do that, but I can't promise not to watch you. It's just too much fun."
"Fun," she repeated. "That's not a word one hears often in this place."
His smile vanished. "No. I guess not." He glanced at the children sitting in a circle on the ground. "They still know what fun is."
She nodded. "And it's fun to watch them, so there is that."
The smile was back, and the tightness in her chest eased. Yaaf smiling was a different person than Yaaf without a smile. One was her old friend, the other was an intimidating force that made her feel threatened even though she knew logically that he wouldnever harm her. It was just the immense destructive potential stored in that big body. She felt like she was sitting next to an explosive charge or a live wire. Both could be completely inert and yet extremely dangerous to be near.
"What's your assessment of Asira?" she asked, just to fill the air between them with words, so her mind would not go places it shouldn't.
"You're the one with the assessment."
She arched a brow. "You're the invisible spy that can watch people without them knowing that they are being watched. You might have seen things I didn't notice."
"I'm not a spy. Not here anyway." He looked past her at Asira. "She looks like her brother."
Yaaf had told her that Asira was the sister of one of his friends, and she assumed it was one of the eight who had been enhanced. He hadn't told her anything about the guy, though.
"What's his name?"
Yaaf's brows drew together. He looked confused.
"We call him Number Four."
"Yes, but what's his name?"
"I…" He stopped. "I don't remember."
She stared at him.
"You don't remember his name?"
