Zinyary looked at him with the same expression Tennal had when he found someone completely hopeless. “Please,” she said. “Tennal told me about you. You were a lieutenant; you managed people and operations and things. You thwarted a coup! Do you think we don’t need that on the civilian side? Well, maybe not the coup,” she added. But then she leaned forward, bright and intent. “You could work for us, and not like this. Our allies need people who aren’t scared of the military. You ran a whole unit—I’m sure they can find something for you.”

Surit blinked. “I don’t have civilian qualifi—”

“And besides!” Zinyary said, continuing like a steamroller. “You dealt with my brother for weeks without strangling him. That’s as good as a certificate.” Her eyes flickered over to something behind him. “And they didn’t even give you hazard pay.”

Surit remembered: Zinyary hadn’t shut the door of the small office room. There was a change in the texture of the air behind him. A deep instinct pinged his mind.

Surit finally stopped waiting.

“You took your time, Tennal,” he said.

“Hey,” Tennal said from the doorway. He leaned against the frame with his arms crossed. Surit looked him over wordlessly, savoring the opportunity to just watch him without being in his mind. Tennal’s green eyes were sharp, no longer lined with exhaustion. He moved like he occupied his own skin fully. He looked like he might leave a line of electricity in the air as he went.

Tennal’s expression changed to outrage as he took in the room setup. “Wait,” he said. “Your hostel said you were at a job interview. That can’t be with my sister.”

Zin bounced to her feet. “Are you saying I’m not qualified to do job interviews?” she asked combatively. Apparently modesty was only for outsiders.

“I’m saying you’re not allowed to poach Surit!”

“Too late!” Zinyary said. “We can use him, and you were too slow!”

“You’ve barely met him, Zin,” From the side, the two aquiline-nosed Halkana siblings faced each other like sniping birds of prey. Surit could appreciate Zinyary’s artistry. Tennal didn’t even seem to notice he was being wound up.

No point in letting it go on too long, though. “Nobody’s using me,” Surit said calmly. “Sen Zinyary, can you excuse us?” It was the height of irresponsibility to walk out of a job interview. Surit savored it.