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“Another mission,” I said. “Another order. Another person you can save. Another way to make yourself useful.”

“Talia.”

“No.”

My voice shook. I hated that. I kept going anyway.

“You don’t get to call that duty and pretend it isn’t also punishment.”

He stood so suddenly the air shifted around him.

I stood too, my own movement slower, deliberate.

“Do not.”

“Do not what?”

“Decide what I believe.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m asking you to look at it.”

“I have.”

“For eight years?”

“Yes.”

“No. You’ve been living inside it for eight years. That’s different.”

Silver-white ŭre appeared faintly beneath the skin of his forearms, a soft glow against the muted light.

Not bright.

Not aggressive.

Just there.

Emotion.

I knew that now.

I stepped closer until I could feel the heat coming off him.

Probably stupid.

I did it anyway.

“When was the last time you did something because you wanted it?”

His eyes stayed on mine, but his silence was a solid thing.

“That is irrelevant.”

“No.”