I could see the tension release in Finale’s shoulders.

“Thank you,” I said.

Byron opened the car door as I approached. He’d apparently fended off the police. I waved for him to get back in, glancing at the cops to make sure he hadn’t complicated things by setting them against Goddess.

“Didn’t you get permission to take the box?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’ll get it.”

“It’s heavy, and you’re injured,” he said. “I’ll help.”

I wanted to protest. I shut my mouth. Master–stranger protocols. They didn’t really apply here, since this had nothing to do with Goddess, but maybe it was better to get used to letting him give the orders.

The box was roughly the size of a coffin, and it did take the both of us to get it into the trunk, the back seats folded down. Byron slammed the back closed.

“No injuries?” I asked.

“Benefit of being long-ranged. I got zapped a few times, nothing too bad. Weak guns.”

“Nonlethal,” I said, my voice quieter. “Just about all of it, as far as I could tell. Pharmacist excepted. I think it might be part of how they get recruits, now.”

Byron’s breath fogged, a lingering aftermath of a sharp, sudden exhalation. A swear expressed unspoken.

I didn’t miss the sideways look he gave me. His train of thought was easy enough to follow. Recruits. Altered mental states. ‘Quote-Brainwashing-unquote’.

The second Patrol bus was picking up the wounded and disabled. It had come stocked with blankets, tending to those who’d been splashed or left lying against cold ground. The thralls didn’t fight or argue much.

“Thanks for having my back,” I said.

“I felt stuck, looking after the Majors, I saw you needed help, but getting there was tough.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “He’s… he has an answer to anything, and I was the threat that stuck out. They brought out the anti-air brute-binding measure, that’s on me. I could have been more strategic. We’ll figure something out. We have other teams, we have Goddess…”

“And—” Byron started. “Sit with me? I won’t go fast. We’re not rushing.”

I nodded.

We both climbed into the car, and I was glad for the warmth that was blowing in noisily from the fans. Byron had to work a bit to get in, with the weight and less comfortable aspects of having armor on. For me, it was just the breastplate, and I could use my unburned hand to loosen it.

“We have an issue,” Byron said, as he pulled the car around in a U-turn. “It means things might not go that smoothly.”

“The changing powers?” I guessed. “The ebb and flow between you two isn’t favoring you as much.”