at me and whirled. My hand clamped around her upper arm, and I tugged gently, just enough to explain where I needed her.
She followed after me as we aimed for a far-away corner of his room. When we arrived at it, I turned and whispered, “What?”
“I can't stay here alone with him,” she nearly hissed.
A bubble of warmth popped in my chest. She almost stood up to me. Unfortunately, I found it cute, not scary, so her attempt didn't do much.
“Are you afraid of him? Do you think he will hurt you in any way?” I frowned.
Leaving her in genuine fear wasn't something I wanted. I knew Corin wouldn't do anything to her she didn't explicitly ask for, but that didn't mean she recognized that.
“Well, no, but.” She sucked in a breath, puffing out her cheeks until she blew it out. “Fine. I'll stay and discuss the regulations and what I believe we need logistically. Maybe he can get us more transfers. But I reserve the right to leave when I need to. Do you want me to come to your unit when I finish here?”
I shook my head, trying to appear normal as urgency caused my heart to skip. She could not drop in—not until we finished.
“No, I think we'll start fresh on the rise. After all, one more sleep, and we'll be official.”
“And on the clock,” she nodded and hung a brittle grin on her lips.
I knew she didn't wish to go home. The feelings that radiated from her made that clear and left a rancid taste in my mouth, but I couldn't risk it.
“Right. I'm not using that tiny room, either, so just drop by whenever you need to. I'll get us a file cabinet delivered to the unit and maybe add some of those stupid rock things all the other Masters seem to have on their desks. Until then, see what you can do to help Corin. He's great, but not nearly as creative as he likes to think he is.” I patted her arm and searched her for fear.
The closest I detected in her felt more like the nervous swirling of a first date, which pointed more towards her crush on him, rather than true panic.
“Remember, Grace. You're my fucking Liaison and Logistics Angel, so sit tall and represent us well. He might be a Prince, but I promise you, he's not more important than you, and he's all right for royalty. I wouldn't leave you here if I thought he posed any real danger to you.”
She nodded, biting her lip before glancing back at the Reaper smoothing the covers on his bed, pretending he hadn't been eavesdropping on our conversation. When she turned to me again, she leaned forward and waited until I bent before whispering in my ear, “I'm worried about not being able to talk or doing something stupid.”
I drew away, and the way she looked at me hurt, with this innocent longing in her eyes mixed with the defeated posture of someone that already accepted, she would be crushed. My heart crumbled, and I rubbed my chest for a moment, seeking to make the burning go away. Poor kid.
Shadow sent an image of Grace alone, and then another, and another. I hadn't really thought about it, but in the entire time Shadow had spied on her, she spoke to no one except for her Father's interrogation. Still, that was only for a little while, right? Ah, fuck it.
I'd try to minimize risks to the trio and her by keeping her away from the illegal parts of my life, but I gave up. Maybe I'd grown too old to hold the grudges and pissiness of my youth. My brain had become a much scarier place in the interval, and it seemed to like contradictions.
What was she talking about again? She snuck another peek behind her, and I remembered.
“You'll be fine. I swear he's not perfect. When you sense that voice dragging you into a pool of 'I'm not good enough,' you kick it in the teeth, okay? Throw back those shoulders and look Corin right in the eye. Turn up the volume of your voice and tell yourself whatever you need to. Just remember, you can either allow others to put a price on you like you're nothing more than an object, or you can determine your own value.”
“But—”
That word sent a blaze of fury through me, jolting my monster awake. It grinned.
“No buts. I know how Angels are. They venerate insertion