“How did it go?” Rain asked.

“Terrible? I mean… what did I have going for me? Fat kid, bad grades, hated everything. No interests. Certainly not sports, like my dad wanted. And she’s… what? Athletic, uh, I’m not going to lie and say she was attractive, because… god, it sounds shitty to say it, but—”

“You don’t have to qualify,” Cuff said. “The racist girl is kind of rat-faced.”

“Reminder: I’m using a camera. I’m micced. We’re probably being watched and listened to by an intern or someone.”

“She was still out of my league,” Golem said. At the same time, words appeared across the camera.

“She was not,” Cuff said. “No. Even discounting the racist stuff…”

“Sure. But as far as I was concerned, then? Zero self-esteem?”

VICTORIA IS WATCHING

“Victoria’s watching,” Rain added. “Hi. Hope things are going okay over there. Sorry to interrupt, Golem.”

“It’s fine,” Golem said. He was Byron-like in how soft spoken he was, which was amusing considering he had the kind of height, frame, and physique that would let anyone dominate a room, and the armor only augmented that. “She wasn’t interested, either. I didn’t blame her.”

“Where I grew up, interest didn’t factor in unless you were a good soldier, and then you got some choice,” Rain said.

“She was a good soldier for the Empire.”

“Sure,” Rain said. “Wouldn’t have guaranteed she was safe, though. It’d make sense to pair up a promising soldier with the son of the group’s leader. Scribe would—”

“Rune. She was Rune then.”

“Rune would have been convinced to go along, got a lot of perks. Keeps her close, and gets you involved.”

“Sounds like you’re an expert. You could run a cult yourself if you had a mind to,” Cuff said.

“Ha. As if. People have to like you for that to happen. You learn stuff if you live it.”

I changed the channel, so to speak. Over to Capricorn.

To Tristan.

He wasn’t far away either, suggesting most of the team was on the task of Amy. No doubt because we’d dealt with her and Shin before. Nothing seemed to be going beyond the gates, but there were enough other heroes around that I imagined they’d be forming the investigative body. If it came to that. Or they’d attack the morass of Nursery stuff, if it turned hostile.

I could see how Golem’s thing about his dad trying to pair him up with Rune had started. Tristan was with some of the Shepherds. Moonsong was close by but she was busy with another conversation. Rune, Scribe, was closer.

“Hey, Capricorn,” Scribe called out.

“You’re still on video, Scribe. Do you want to say something else that’s going to make you look bad in front of your superiors?”

Tristan sounded so tired.

“Heard you didn’t reconcile with Reconciliation.”