“Panacea is my daughter. She is also your sister. The distinction between relations and family is one of weight. Good or bad, she has an important place in our hearts.”

“Shit,” I heard Capricorn, barely audible.

“She’s my adopted sister,” I said. I was one hundred percent aware of how petty it seemed to seize on ‘adopted’, and how I was doing the exact same thing that had left me utterly enraged in the past when others had done it. “I’m not focusing on the adoption because she wasn’t family. I’m trying to make it clear that you and I aren’t that connected. There’s an additional half-step of separation.”

“We’re connected through shared association with one meaningful person. I don’t want to mislead my colleagues.”

I grit my teeth for a second. More and more, it felt like I was having to measure out or calculate my words. It was the handling of something volatile in the same way the building of a sensitive bomb might be. One mistake, and things would get messy.

Careful, avoid the disaster, keep it simple with your eye on the objective. “No disrespect intended, Marquis, but you weren’t in our lives when she—”

Don’t fuck it up now, Victoria, I thought, as emotions got in the way of words. Don’t show weakness, don’t snap.

“—and I grew up together. I haven’t been a part of her life since you entered the picture. You and I aren’t connected in any… what did you say? Impactful way?”

“Important,” Marquis said.

“Yeah,” I said.

“I’ll concede the point.”

“Thank you,” I said. I was proud, but not of winning the argument, because it was a petty argument in a way. I was proud of getting through it. It was the kind of pride I couldn’t really explain to anyone, even Sveta.

Maybe Dr. Darnall.

Marquis turned to Lord of Loss. “Her family was the group that put me in the Birdcage for thirteen years, four months. No hard feelings—that was the risk I took. They took it on themselves to raise my daughter, part of that being my suggestion. I do have hard feelings, it’s to do with how they raised her. She wasn’t happy.”

Pride was gone. Heavy feelings seeped in and swelled inside me.

“No,” I said. I wanted this conversation to be done with. “She wasn’t.”

“But,” Marquis said. “She sang your praises, Antares, as much as she was able to speak of any of it. She loved you and she felt loved.”

“I don’t… disagree,” I said, my voice tight, “But is this relevant?”

“It’s relevant,” Marquis said it with an assured confidence. “You were or are her family and that mattered. I feel I owe you a debt, especially considering the nightmarish way things ended.”