Page 109 of Alien Burn

For a moment neither of them moved.

Beyond the door, a clerk passed with a stack of meal requests. Ordinary work continued in a building full of people who were waiting to learn whether their lives would ever be ordinary again.

Roemary glanced toward the corridor and sat down.

Dhomhes returned to his chair.

“I see,” she said.

He doubted that she liked what she saw.

“I hope you're equally clear with Sereya.”

His expression cooled.

“She may not understand that attention can be temporary,” Roemary continued. “She has very little experience with males in your position.”

“I won't discuss her with you.”

“I'm trying to spare her an embarrassment.”

“Then leave her out of this conversation.”

Roemary's fingers dug into the fabric at her knee.

There. The anger he had heard only at the edges until now. She had asked him for private access, then for information about protected guests. Each refusal brought her back to Sereya. She had lost more than an admirer she had presumed was hers; the female who used to run her errands now had someone willing to question them.

He wondered how much of that anger Sereya had been required to soothe.

The thought made his voice less pleasant.

“I'll have the medical staff offer help with your sleep. The office will answer about the packet. Is there a specific threat you need to report?”

“No.”

She gave the answer too quickly, then corrected her tone.

“No. Thank you. You've made everything very clear.”

She stood, gathering herself with practiced care.

At the doorway she paused.

“My father will want to know why ordinary correspondence is being held.”

“The office can provide the reason in writing.”

“And who made the decision.”

“Dhomhes,” he said. “He may use my name.”

She held his gaze, then left.

He watched until she turned into the main corridor. She smiled at the clerk she passed. Nothing in her face suggested the effort it had taken to put the smile there.

His operations lead appeared at the far end of the passage.

Dhomhes went to meet him.