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Corian was difficult to overlook even before taking the command insignia into account. He was broad through the shoulders, taller than most people around him except Halver and carried himself with the irritatingly effortless balance of somebody who was always aware of where everyone else in the room was. There was nothing hesitant in the way he moved. When Corian reached for something, he had already decided he wanted it. When he gave an instruction, he expected it to be followed, but over the last two weeks I'd learned that expectation wasn't the same thing as demanding obedience for the pleasure of being obeyed.

His eyes were on my open pack now, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"I counted three times."

"That wasn't a denial."

"I added another knife."

"Which required starting again?"

"Yes."

He considered that, then nodded as though this was somehow reasonable. "Come with me when you're done."

The words made something inside me tighten automatically.

Not much.

Enough that I noticed.

Corian noticed too.

His expression changed by a fraction. "Conversation, Jade. You're not in trouble."

"I didn't think I was."

His eyebrow rose higher.

"Fine. I considered the possibility."

"I need to work on my approach."

"You're very commanding."

"I'm the commander."

"That sounds like an excuse."

The corner of his mouth moved. "Finish packing."

He crossed the room before I could argue further, stopping beside Alex long enough to remove a glass sample vial from his hand and return it to the research crate.

"I was looking at it," Alex complained.

"It isn't ours."

"I wasn't going to break it."

Nykos, sitting at the table with his own pack open beside him, didn't look up. "You were going to break it."

"Your lack of faith hurts me."

"It hasn't so far."

Corian closed the lid of the research crate and pushed it toward Alex. "Take that to the front hall and put it with the waterproof cases. Carefully."

Alex pressed one hand dramatically to his chest, swept the other behind his back and bowed low enough that his pale hair fell over one shoulder. "Yes, Lord Favaris. Your command is my greatest purpose."