They could, she whispered back, solemn, but did not meet Kell's gaze this time. Instead, she sat, and she was drawn to look toward Maxim, unflinching beneath the steel weight he leveled upon her. I have been an interloper before. To herself, in silence, she mapped how quickly she could get out if needed, though it was her last resort.

She needed to rise up this time, rather than let herself be hobbled.

Her hands remained in her lap while Kell poured them tea. Her thumb pressed into the back of her hand. "It was, yes. It was my not my intention to intrude upon your world and its sanctuary." She did not say she held remorse over where she came out, nor in her reuniting with Kell. "It was only fortuitous that I knew someone here."