“No,” I said. I tried to sound offended, but not too offended. Wary but not guilty. Calm, but not rehearsed.
It was an idiotic balance to try to strike.
How had Kazan treated me?
“Fine,” I said. “Respectfully.”
Did I feel coerced?
“No.”
Did I want to continue the trial arrangement?
I hesitated just long enough to look uncertain.
“Yes,” I said. “For now.”
Kazan didn’t move, but I felt him react. Like the air beside me had gone hot.
Pell kept typing.
The questions went on until I was sure I’d crack my own teeth from clenching them. But then he lowered the tablet and rubbed a hand over his face.
“All right,” he said. “Between us, this is mostly procedural.”
Relief hit me so hard I almost swayed.
I locked my knees.
Pell didn’t seem to notice. “The complaint is real. The flag is real. But I’ve seen the file. It looks like a breach-of-promise claim from an Earth-side ex with a grudge. You’ll need a tribunal judge to dissolve the prior claim formally, then this match can be evaluated on its own terms.” He tucked the tablet under his arm. “I don’t see a major problem.”
For one stupid second, I believed we were safe.
Then his comm chimed. Pell glanced down, frowned, and lifted one finger. “Excuse me.” He stepped outside onto the porch.
I waited until the door clicked shut, then moved to the window.
“Maisie,” Kazan warned softly.
“I know.”
But I had to look.
Pell stood on the porch with his comm to his ear. Out in the yard, one of Kazan’s seasonal workers waited near the drive, hat in his hands, and walked up to Pell.
I’d seen him a couple of times. Never spoken to him. He had the hunched posture of a man trying to look smaller than he was.
Kazan came up beside me. His shoulder brushed mine before he remembered we weren’t supposed to touch and pulled back. I hated that too.
The farmhand kept his eyes down as he spoke. Pell ended his call and listened.
I couldn’t hear the words through the glass, but I didn’t need to. It was bad news. I understood the way a man’s posture changed when he’d just been handed power.
Pell’s back straightened. He turned and looked at the house. Not at Kazan. At me. Kazan made a low sound in his chest.
“Don’t,” I said immediately.
His hands curled at his sides.
