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I shut the door and headed down the stairs. The servants were back at work performing their duties. The mood was dark and dull, the way it was when I first arrived.
“Would you care for something to eat?” Waev said, meeting me at the foot of the stairs. “Or something to drink?”
Even he had turned stiff again, although that was common enough for him. He usually was stiff.
Did he know about my lies? Did he know the truth? Had Traes shared them with the servants?
I didn’t think so. Traes wasn’t the gossiping type.
At least that was a small mercy.
“No, thank you,” I said. “I’m not hungry.”
That wasn’t exactly true. But anything I swallowed would never stay down.
Waev bowed deeply.
“May I say, it’s been a pleasure having you stay with us,” he said. “You’ve made the world of difference to Cleb, and of course, to Traes.”
He knew I was leaving. I supposed Traes had to tell the servants eventually. So why not tell them right away?
“Thank you for everything,” I said. “I… really enjoyed myself here.”
It was no good. I couldn’t speak with him any longer. I needed to grab my ticket from Traes and get out of there.
I knocked on the door of his study.
A commanding voice replied with:
“Come.”
I took a deep breath and opened the door. He glanced up at me and bent back down over his work.
I approached his desk. Every step felt like a thousand miles.
I stopped in front of him. Even now, as angry as he was and perched behind his desk, commanding his mini-empire, he was handsome. He would work all the hours he could.
To quench the pain, I realized.
It was his distraction. Some people liked to watch sport, others to exercise. For him, the solution to unwanted thoughts was work.
“The ticket is on the desk,” he said, not looking up at me. “I hope you have a nice trip.”
I opened the envelope. The ticket was for the most expensive option. I would have an entire private suite to myself. It would have taken me a year to afford to pay for it.
“Thank you,” I said. “But I don’t want to stay awake for the journey. I want a pod.”
His coping method was work. Mine would be sleep.
The less I had to think over what happened, the better.
“I’m sure they’ll downgrade you if you ask,” he said, signing a document and placing it in the out tray.
He reached for the next report.
I placed my hand on his. I felt the bolt of electricity.
Did he?
