The day had started well at the Biolab, but quickly turned nasty. In the morning, they had all gathered in Melina’s office again to see what they could glimpse of Chay Zanlan’s comings and goings. They felt free to do so since Cerisa would be gone for the day. The rumor was, though Nolan could scarcely credit it, that Ariana Bayless had invited Cerisa to join the select group that was socializing with the gulden king. True, Cerisa and Ariana were great friends (the same woman mysteriously split in two, Pakt often said darkly); and Cerisa was one of the most sought-after dinner guests in the city, since she had an impeccable lineage and an impressive career. But she was hardly famed for her small talk and sociability. Though perhaps, when one was entertaining a hostile ambassador, that was not the point.

Nonetheless, she was gone, and they all felt a carnival mood of freedom lift their spirits. They sat at the window; they told jokes. Varella lofted wads of paper at Hiram, hitting him in the head. Colt bent over Melina, his white-blond hair drifting over her shaved head, and whispered something that made her laugh till she cried. Nolan stood near the back of the room, idly discussing rental property with Sochin, a blueskin who lived in his neighborhood and wanted to be rid of his roommate.

And then suddenly there was a scream of fury, and Melina was pummeling Colt with both hands. He drew back his hand and hit her so hard she rammed into the windowpane. The room became an instant melee, bodies pushing between the combatants, Varella shrieking like a hysterical child, Melina thrashing in the arms of those who sought to hold her back. None of the blueskins wanted to attempt to restrain Colt, but after that one terrific blow, he made no move to touch Melina again. The guldmen surrounded him, edging him back toward the door, but even they didn’t lay a hand on him. His face was a study in sullen scorn. He looked as though he could burst into slow, uncontrollable flame at any moment.

Pakt dashed into the room, took in the scene with one glance, and grabbed Colt by the arm with more nerve than the rest of them had mustered. “My office. Now,” snapped the senior guldman, and Colt wrenched his arm away. “Melina. You, too.”

“I’ll kill him,” she panted.

Nolan spoke to Pakt in a low voice. “I’d separate them for now.”

Pakt frowned at him. Colt had melted from the room, and everyone else was concentrating on Melina. “What happened? What was said?” Pakt demanded.

Nolan gestured his ignorance. “I didn’t hear it. But she was screaming and beating on him, and he walloped her so hard she might be hurt. I wouldn’t put them together anytime soon.”

Pakt nodded, still frowning. “Does she need a doctor?”

“I’ll find out.”