“He stepped out,” he said at last.
I waited.
Joren didn’t rush to fill the silence. He shifted slightly in his seat, his attention staying on me, measured yet thoughtful, as if he were deciding how much weight the room could hold without tipping.
“That,” he said at last, “isn’t a complete answer. But it’s the one I can give you.”
There was no apology in his tone, no attempt to soften it. Just a boundary, set and left where it stood.
I moved closer to his desk, stopping opposite of him. “Is he hurt?”
“No.”
“Is he in danger.”
Joren’s expression didn’t change, but something in his gaze sharpened, the way it did when he was being precise. “No,” he said again.
I studied him for a moment longer. “Then why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me something.”
He leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose. “Because if I were,” he said, “you’d already be asking questions I’m not going to answer.”
The chicken clucked once, shifting its weight as if it were irritated by the tension. Joren ignored it.
“Whatever he’s doing,” I said carefully, “you know about it.”
“Yes.”
“And you agree with it.”
Joren’s mouth curved faintly at that, not into a smile, but something closer to resignation. “That depends on what you think agreement looks like.”
I straightened. “That’s not an answer.”
The silence stretched between us, not empty, but contained. The kind that settled when something had already moved beyond debate. I felt no surge of anger or fear, only a slow uncomfortable clarity.
“This isn’t something he plans to explain when he gets back,” I said.
Joren met my gaze steadily. “Not unless you ask him to.”
“And if I do?”
“Then he will,” Joren said.
“When will he be back,” I asked.
“Soon,” he replied. “Atlas doesn’t leave loose ends.”
That was the part that unsettled me, I stepped back, the decision already made. As I turned toward the door, Joren spoke again, quieter now.
“For what it’s worth,” he said, “this wasn’t done lightly.”
I paused, my hand resting on the latch.
“I know,” I said.
And I meant it. I left without waiting for him to say anything else.
Chapter 34
