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"What about Nykos?"

"What about him?"

"Could you make him shorter?"

I pressed my lips together.

Alex saw it.

"You can."

"That is not what my face said."

"Your face absolutely said you can make Nykos shorter."

"I'm not altering Nykos because you think it would be funny."

"But hypothetically."

"No."

"He's a telepath. He'd notice you thinking about it before I got near him."

Alex paused. "That is unfortunately true."

I shook my head, but the tension that had shown up when he mentioned biomancy had already faded.

He wasn't asking the normal questions.

That was what felt strange.

There were dozens of things he could have asked if he wanted to know how dangerous I was, what I could do in the field, how far my control reached. Instead he was studying his own hand like it deserved real consideration.

"Could you move my thumb to the other side?"

I laughed again. "What is wrong with you?"

"I'm exploring possibilities."

"You're wasting them."

"I only recently discovered biomancy could be used for comedy. Nobody mentioned that in your file."

There it was.

The file.

My amusement faltered for half a second, but Alex was already holding his hand up, examining his thumb from different angles.

"Actually, don't move it. I think I'd hate that."

"Good decision."

"Could you give me a second thumb?"

I covered my face with one hand while he laughed.

The sound mixed with the rustling leaves overhead and Ashter's paws tearing through the grass as he chased another stick, and something inside me loosened again.