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Her expression tightened.

She looked at the lantern again. “I hate that.”

“I know.”

“You don’t know me well enough to know what I hate.”

“I know you hate that somebody changed your work while you weren’t here to see it.”

That silenced her.

Wind pressed briefly against the outer wall, making the tied-back hanging figure above us rotate a few inches on its line.

Sybil watched it settle.

Then she said, “I need to talk to the crew.”

“You can.”

“I need to check the rest of the route again before opening.”

“We can do that too.”

Her eyes narrowed. “We?”

“You’re not entering the attraction alone again while I’m assigned to you.”

Her shoulders went rigid.

“Damien, that is not a workable rule.”

“It is today.”

“I have staff all over this place. I may need to move between sections every five minutes.”

“Then I move with you.”

“You don’t know enough about event operations to be attached to my shoulder all night.”

“I don’t need to run your event.”

“Then stop telling me how to move through it.”

I let her finish.

She was angry enough that color had come back into her face, and close enough that I could see the gold around the green in her eyes.

Heat settled low in my body, but I kept my voice calm.

“I’m not changing your route, your staffing, or your cues. You showed me that lantern in the right place. We left. We came back and found it somewhere else. Until we know who moved it and why, I stay close enough to reach you.”

She drew in a breath.

I continued before she could answer.

“If that makes your job harder, tell me what you need from me so it doesn’t. I’ll work around you. I won’t disappear because the restriction is inconvenient.”

For a few seconds, the only sound between us was the faint hum of equipment through the wall.