Page 83 of Alien Burn

“Could you hear a name for the person she was speaking to?”

“No. I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. You're telling me what happened.”

He set the comm between them, where she could still see the screen.

“Do you know who she meant when she said he kept speaking to her?”

Sereya shook her head. “It might have been us.”

“It might.”

“She was angry at the reception. About you talking to me. But she asks about Adryel too. She did before we got here.”

“What did she ask?”

“Who Adryel spent time with. Whether she ever talked about Kerde. What frightened her.” Saying it all together made Sereya feel ill. “She told me to befriend her. On the ship. I thought she wanted someone else to laugh at.”

“Did you?”

“Try to befriend her? A little. She wasn't interested.”

“Did you report anything to Roemary?”

Sereya looked at the window. A small plant in the courtyard had been tied to a stake to keep it upright. Someone had used three strips of cloth where one would probably have done.

“I told her Adryel didn't want company. That was true. There wasn't anything else to tell.”

Dhomhes stayed quiet.

“She didn't trust me,” Sereya said. “I was always with Roemary. I don't blame her.”

“You came here today.”

“I should have⁠—”

“Today,” he said gently. “Tell me about today first.”

She drew a breath that hurt a little, then let it out.

There wasn't much more. The spill. The door closing. The way Roemary had sounded when the other person interrupted her.

“She was frightened,” Sereya said. “She'll be furious if she knows I heard her.”

Dhomhes's gaze held hers.

“Then we take that seriously.”

“Are you going to arrest her?”

“The commander will check her calls and requests against what you've heard. A deadline without a date still needs acting on. Her unscheduled visitors and deliveries will be checked before they reach anyone here.” He glanced at the note. “I can't promise you an arrest from this alone.”

“I don't know what I want you to promise.”

“I can promise I won't send you back to find out more.”

She looked down at her hands.