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She started at my sudden appearance and slapped her hand to her chest. “Shit.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I came in too hot. My bad.”

She frowned as she studied me. “Halo?”

“Right, sorry. That’s what I’ve taken to calling you in my mind sometimes. You know, angel? Halo? You being my bodyguard lately like an angel of vengeance defender?”

A giggle erupted from her. “I see.”

“You like?”

“I don’t usually like any reference to my Celestial heritage, but in this case it’s actually cute. I can work with it.”

“That’s very honest of you. And open.” I gestured at the holoscreen. “Unlike some other things you’re doing.”

“I’m not spying. Just checking in.”

“I only thought the latter. But it’s the fact that you’re checking in secretly.”

“You know well how Kai is. How Vorzyr is, too, now, right?”

“I do know Kai extremely well and I’ve got a handle on Vorzyr as well, yeah. Youusedto know Kai, and you’re trying to gauge Vorzyr. But you’re not doing well with determining correct details about either of them.”

Instead of being pissed that I was calling out some deficiencies, she asked me, curiously, “What do you mean?”

I gestured at the space in front of her. “May I?”

“Sure.”

I sat down and crossed my legs in front of her, matching her positioning. “It would really help, more than you can possibly imagine, to let Kai know that you’re checking in on him.”

“He’ll run a mile with it.”

“Maybe he should. And maybe it’s time for you to let him.”

“He almost died because of me. Because of what I am.”

“It wasn’t because of you. But either way, he’s not gonna stop now where that test and the whole Celestial complications of it all are concerned.”

“He has to. I have the test.”

“Do you really think Kai didn’t have a backup plan in place when he let you take it?”

She cursed and scrubbed her hand over her face. “He’s maddening.”

“Yeah, he is. But he’s also got a whole other amazing side to him.Andyou don’t know the root of hismaddeningside, because the two of you were estranged by the point it manifested.”

“Do you know?”

“I do. The question is, are you ready to listen?”

She only hesitated for a couple of moments, before nodding. “Yeah. I am.”

I shifted my weight a little and settled in, then explained, “When Kai was younger, he was exceedingly arrogant when he realized how powerful a sorcerer he was, and had the potential to become. He wasn’t always careful, as a result.”

“I remember that aspect, yeah.”

“But you don’t know what stopped him from being like that.”