Jainan’s strained hearing caught the sound of the door sliding open in the main room. He didn’t even think before he killed all the files, wiped his notes, and pulled the data coin off his handheld. As the study door slid open, he turned toward it with the coin hidden in his pocket, as composed as he could make himself. He only just remembered to control his breathing.

It wasn’t until he saw Kiem’s face that he realized he had been expecting Taam.

“How’s it going? Sorry it got a bit late…” Kiem broke off, belatedly taking stock of the empty room and Jainan standing in front of him. “Uh. Were you just finishing, or did I interrupt?”

Jainan knew enough to take hold of a lifeline when one presented itself. “I was just finishing,” he said. Could Kiem read his discovery on his face? “How was your…” He stopped. He had forgotten what Kiem had gone out to do.

“Fete,” Kiem said helpfully. “Jakstad Prime School fete. It was good, thanks.

I came in to ask you if you wanted to come on a trip to their sister school in Braska on fifth-day? They’re having a graduation festival. I’ve already booked to go, but I could add you. Not that exciting, I know, but I thought we could go over the mountains, it’s a nice flight—I’m talking too much again, aren’t I.”

“Yes,” Jainan said, without even really hearing the question. “Thank you.”

Kiem glanced at the table uneasily, and Jainan flinched as if he’d left his documents projected over it. That just made Kiem’s eyes snap back to him. “Are you all right?”

It was a much slower, more hesitant inquiry than Bel’s—and more dangerous.

Jainan’s fingers clenched convulsively around the data coin in his pocket, his mind still spinning, and he groped for an answer. “Fine.”

“Okay,” Kiem said, still slowly. His eyes didn’t leave Jainan’s face.

Jainan’s thoughts were a frantic whirl. Kiem would jump to the conclusion that Jainan had been involved. It was the only logical outcome. Jainan couldn’t trust his own memories. He didn’t know where his duty lay, and that was the most terrifying thing of all.

“I know you don’t like asking for help,” Kiem said carefully, “but you could keep in mind that I’ve got a duty to you too. Think of it like … a credit account you haven’t drawn on yet. I’m just saying that if there’s something I can do—”

“Stop,” Jainan said abruptly, unable to bear it any more. It was a timely reminder that the last contract he had signed bound him to Kiem, not Taam, and keeping this from his partner was also a betrayal. “Sit down.”

His manners had deserted him, as they sometimes did when he was agitated enough. As usual Kiem didn’t seem to notice. He took the chair by the sofa and looked at Jainan expectantly, his hands resting on his knees. Jainan realized he was watching Kiem for signs of tension and deliberately turned to the desk. It wasn’t his business how Kiem took the information. “I may be incorrect about this,” he said. He brought up the documents again. “But I must tell you something.”