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“What’s wrong?” Maklr asked.

“Nothing.”

“You seem off.” Maklr sighed. “Don’t take this wrong. I know I’m not always the most tactful person, but you seem like the old Nell, prior to our time away.”

Nell plopped on the two-seater couch in Maklr’s office, propping her legs up over the armrest. “Yes and no,” she said. “Something feels off, but I can’t explain the feeling I have.”

“Can you describe it?” Maklr’s demeanor changed to medic mode in an instant. “Have you talked to Charlotte about it? Maybe it’s not a physical issue, but a mental health one?”

“Do you think maybe I’ve pushed myself too far? Or gone too fast? I mean, I’ve been helping you here every day since we got back.”

Maklr scratched his chin. “Perhaps.”

“Do you think I could be sick?”

“Doubtful, but to be on the safe side, let’s check.” Maklr pulled out an assessing scanner. “One moment. Let me calibrate it for human physiology.” He handed it to Nell.

She passed the wand over her body slowly, concentrating on the area around her temple and eyes.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe I need glasses. Vision correctors,” she said. “How’d I do, Doc?” She handed him the wand.

Maklr stared at the screen. “Based on these results, you don’t need glasses. Your eyesight is almost perfect. Everything else seems fine.” He put the wand away. “What made you think you needed glasses?”

Nell huffed. “I’ve been seeing shadows everywhere. It could just be my mind playing tricks on me.”

“Shadows? At what time of the day?”

Nell nodded. “Yeah, shadows. All different times. Morning, evening on my way home. Sometimes when I’m here walking in a corridor. But we have a lot of construction going on, and there are building materials all over. When I walk past a pallet of supplies, the shadow disappears.”

“Hmm.” Maklr made a non-committal sound. “Maybe it’s something to worry about. Maybe not. I’m glad you mentioned it.”

“I’m safe here. Nothing’s out to get me, especially not with an entire building full of Klagan warriors around me.”

“What about when you’re not here?”

Nell shrugged. “I don’t go anywhere alone. I’m always with people, even when I walk from here to the transition center or the park.” She kicked her feet. “Security is tight at the center with all sorts of biometric scanners, checkpoints, and its proximity to the palace with the Royal Guards. No one in their right mind would try to get in.”

“You have a point.”

“When’s your shift over?”

“In an hour or two.” Maklr glanced at the clock on the wall.

“Don’t forget you have a watch on your wrist,” she said.

“My first gift from you. How could I forget?”

“Is it set?” Nell asked. “Well…” Maklr winked. He sighed. “I can’t tease you any longer. It is. After I’m finished for the evening, would you like to stroll in the park? Maybe we could get some of that dessert humans are fond of… creamed ice? No, ice cream.”

“Ice cream? I love ice cream.”

“I really like the white with speckled colored one.”

“What? Vanilla?”

Maklr shrugged. “I don’t know. It has crunchy brown speckles in it.”